After a 2024 season that felt straight out of a video game, 2,000 rushing yards, a Super Bowl ring, and the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year award, expectations from Saquon Barkley have skyrocketed. After a historic campaign last year, he seemed poised to remind the league why he’s a generational talent. But if anyone is standing in the way of his resurgence in Philadelphia, it might be his own head coach, Nick Sirianni.

Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport didn’t hold back, bluntly predicting that Barkley is “doomed” in 2025. Let’s start with the math. Barkley logged 378 touches last season. Since 2007, 25 running backs have crossed the 370-touch threshold in a season. Only two of them increased their total yardage the following year. Barkley, for all his physical gifts, isn’t immune to what the league now calls the Curse of 370.

Among the eight running backs to previously hit 2,000 rushing yards in a season before Barkley, the average post-2,000-yard season sits at a stunning 966 yards fewer. That’s the inevitable crash he is headed to. However, former Eagles OT and Super Bowl winner Barrett Brooks revealed what Nick Sirianni could do to avoid that.

He first said, “He’s (Barkley) going to get the ball. But give it to him sparingly. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” Moreover, he also gave hope to the Birds by adding, “Don’t use him up so early that he’s not going to be as good as he was in the playoffs last year. I mean, we want him to be rested. And put reserve when he goes into the playoffs, he’s going to take us to the promised land like he did last year.” Moreover, he revealed the players who can share the load.

So, what’s the plan for relief? AJ Dillon is supposed to be the bruiser. But he hasn’t taken a live snap since 2023 after missing last season with a neck injury. And before that? He was reliable, not game-breaking, 2,428 rushing yards over four seasons with the Packers, 4.1 yards per carry. Then there’s rookie Will Shipley, talented but unproven.

However, Nick Sirianni know that the league will be chasing them. And yet, despite all these warning signs, the Eagles doubled down on their star back in historic fashion.

Saquon Barkley favored to repeat historic performance

Just one year into his original free-agent contract, they shocked the league by handing Barkley a two-year, $41.2 million extension, making him the highest-paid running back in NFL history. A back-to-back contract deal in the same league year? That’s unheard of. But the Eagles were convinced. They locked in $36 million guaranteed and added another $15 million in incentives. This wasn’t just confidence, it was conviction.

For Barkley, the move clearly meant something. His reaction on Instagram was short but telling, “Overflow!” he posted. “Grateful for the Eagles Organization, grateful for my team, grateful for the amazing fans in Philly.” You could feel the emotion through the screen. And that’s what makes the next chapter so intriguing. Because for every critic calling him a regression candidate, the oddsmakers aren’t buying it.

Vegas has Barkley as the favorite to repeat as NFL Offensive Player of the Year. At +500 on Bet MGM and +650 on ESPN Bet, no one is getting shorter odds. Not Ja’Marr Chase, Christian McCaffrey, or even Jahmyr Gibbs. Barkley is the guy.

If he pulls it off, he’ll be doing something no one’s done in nearly 25 years. The last back-to-back Offensive Player of the Year? Marshall Faulk, who did it three times in a row from 1999 to 2001. The league has changed since then. Running backs don’t get this kind of respect anymore. But the Eagles RB is breaking the mold.

Saquon Barkley is a rare athlete, maybe the rarest RB of his generation. But history doesn’t lie. If the Eagles don’t protect him, don’t balance the workload, and don’t manage expectations, the fall could be sharp. For now, though? He’s still flying.