Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and Ravens running back Derrick Henry both changed teams this offseason and they have both thrived in their new homes.
Barkley leads the NFL with 1,392 rushing yards, Henry is second with 1,325 and no other back has reached the 1,000-yard mark, so there’s not much debate about who the top two backs are in the league this season. The two players will be in the same place when the Eagles play in Baltimore on Sunday and their meeting is a rare moment for the NFL.
It is the first time that two backs have each entered a game with 1,300 rushing yards since Adrian Peterson and Arian Foster played in a 2012 game between the Vikings and the Texans. Ravens fullback Patrick Ricard called it cool to have two backs “getting the premier look of being franchise players” given the recent history of the league and said the Ravens want to get the edge on the ground on Sunday.
“It’s definitely an exciting challenge for us to try to outrush them because they’ve been doing such a good job,” Ricard said, via the team’s website. “Why wouldn’t you want your guy to be the top dog? I’m going to do everything I can to try to help him get that spot.”
Peterson wound up as the MVP in 2012 and that was the last time a running back took the award. Barkley has generated some buzz on that front and a big day on Sunday would only make for louder calls for him to be a real candidate for the award.
