NFL winners and losers, Week 12: Saquon Barkley sprints into MVP conversation

Each week of the NFL season, The Baltimore Sun will recap the best and worst from around the league. Here are our winners and losers from Week 12:

Winner: Saquon Barkley

Could a running back win the NFL Most Valuable Player Award? We’re about to find out.

Saquon Barkley vaulted himself into the conversation with a majestic performance in Sunday night’s 37-20 win over the Los Angeles Rams. The Eagles star rushed for a staggering 255 yards, the most in team history and the ninth-most in league history. That included a pair of 70-plus-yard touchdown runs in which Barkley showed off the elite burst that made him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 draft.

Through 11 games in Philadelphia after leaving the Giants in free agency, Barkley has already rushed for a career-high 1,392 yards. At 27 years old, he looks just as explosive as ever, making his three-year, $37.5 million contract an absolute steal. For context, Barkley is the eighth-highest-paid player on Philadelphia’s offense.

As Barkley goes, so do the Eagles (9-2), who have won seven straight and firmly hold the top spot in the NFC East. While quarterback Jalen Hurts has been effective, Barkley’s down-to-down impact is what has vaulted Philadelphia from a struggling offense in the back half of last season to one of the league’s best. Despite playing behind a strong offensive line, former Eagles running back D’Andre Swift eclipsed 100 yards just twice last season. Barkley has already done so seven times, including five games over 145 yards.

And it’s not just Barkley who deserves all the credit. He leads the league in average yards before contact, which is a credit to the offensive line for opening big holes and moving defenders off the line of scrimmage. Giving an elite athlete like Barkley all that room puts pressure on second- and third-level defenders to bring him down, and they’re often left grasping at air or being shoved into the ground.

After last year’s epic collapse that resulted in an early postseason exit, it was impossible to predict what kind of Eagles team would show up this season. There have still been head-scratching moments with coach Nick Sirianni, but his grip on the team feels more secure. The addition of defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has also solidified a unit brimming with talent, including rookie defensive backs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.

With Barkley on a tear, the Eagles look like a Super Bowl contender that’s getting better every week. Maybe running backs do matter after all.

Loser: Washington Commanders

Just three weeks ago, Washington seemed destined for the playoffs and Jayden Daniels looked like a shoo-in for Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Oh, how things have changed.

After a wild finish Sunday that included 31 points in the final four minutes, Washington suffered its third straight loss, 34-26 to the Cooper Rush-led Dallas Cowboys. Those final minutes included a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, a miracle 86-yard touchdown pass with 21 seconds left, a missed game-tying extra point attempt, an onside kick return for a touchdown and an interception on a Hail Mary. For many teams, that’s a season’s worth of excitement.

While a 7-5 record is a great result for a team with a rookie quarterback and first-year coach, the path the Commanders have taken here is troubling. For starters, there’s the usual second-half regression that often accompanies offenses directed by coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, which many have dubbed the “Kliff Cliff.” Whether it’s something inherently broken in Kingsbury’s scheme or perhaps a lingering injury for Daniels, the offense has not been nearly as effective over the past three games.

Perhaps most glaring Sunday, however, was the rash of mistakes that prevented Washington from beating a Cowboys team missing many of its best players. In addition to the special teams blunders, the Commanders were penalized eight times for a season-high 78 yards. They also committed three turnovers, including two interceptions from Daniels, and went just 4 for 12 on third down. Washington blocked a field goal and a punt in the same game for the first time since 1977 … and still lost.

There is still plenty of time to right the ship, starting with a home game Sunday against the 3-8 Titans. But there is little margin for error with the Falcons (6-5), Buccaneers (5-6) and the entire NFC West jockeying for playoff position. NFL Next Gen Stats gives the Commanders a 58% chance to make the playoffs. Falling short of the seven-team field after a 7-2 start would be a disappointing way to end such a promising campaign.

Winner: Miami Dolphins

After Tua Tagovailoa suffered another scary concussion and the Dolphins fell to 2-6, there was some conversation about whether it even made sense for the star quarterback to return this season. Why risk his health during a lost year?

With three straight wins, the latest a 34-15 rout of the Patriots, Miami (5-6) has revived its postseason hopes. Tagovailoa has been exceptional since his return in Week 8, throwing 11 touchdown passes with just one interception while averaging 255.4 passing yards per game. He carved up New England on Sunday to the tune of 317 yards and four touchdowns.

“We’re still below the .500 threshold, and it’s a long way to where we want to get to,” Tagovailoa said. “We’ll enjoy this win, but this next one is going to be big for us.”

That next one is Thanksgiving night against the Green Bay Packers, who are 8-3 and coming off a blowout win over the San Francisco 49ers. But the Packers are dealing with injuries to wide receiver Romeo Doubs (concussion), cornerback Jaire Alexander (knee) and linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (hamstring) and could be vulnerable during a short week of preparation. What seemed like a gantlet to end the season for Miami does not seem so daunting now, with the Jets, Texans, 49ers and Browns all struggling and falling below preseason expectations.

Next Gen Stats gives the Dolphins just a 15% chance to make the playoffs, since the Bills (9-2) are running away with the AFC East and the Broncos (7-5) have a firm hold on the final wild-card spot. But the fact that Miami even has hope given how the season started is a testament to Tagovailoa’s determination and belief in the locker room.

Loser: New York Giants

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for the Giants.

A week that began with the release of quarterback Daniel Jones ended with a dispiriting 30-7 home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, dropping New York to a league-worst 2-9. The performance on the field was bad enough, as the defense allowed 450 total yards and the offense only mustered one meaningless fourth-quarter touchdown, but the comments after the game are the real concern.

“We played soft,” star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence said.

“I personally don’t think everyone’s giving 100%,” offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor said.

“We’ve got capable players who don’t play like they’re capable, period,” wide receiver Darius Slayton said.

The move to release Jones and start third-stringer Tommy DeVito didn’t seem to sit well in the locker room. Drew Lock was confused as to why he wasn’t elevated to the starting role. Lawrence said Jones was the best quarterback on the team, and rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers said during his lengthy rant Sunday that the quarterback isn’t the problem.

Team owner John Mara gave general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll a public vote of confidence four weeks ago, asserting that they would return next season. It’s becoming harder to justify that decision, especially if the players don’t believe in the team’s direction. It doesn’t help that Barkley and Packers safety Xavier McKinney (league-high seven interceptions), two former high draft picks the Giants let walk in free agency, are thriving with their new teams.

The only silver lining right now is an incoming high draft pick, perhaps No. 1 overall. But given the mistakes the Schoen-Daboll regime has already made when it comes to evaluating talent, it would be a big risk to let them make that decision.

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