This is not one of those seasons where a quarterback wills his team to a Super Bowl title.

Oh no, it’s going to come down to the presence of a star player at a position general managers and talent evaluators have decided to downsize.

Running back Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles are just two victories away from being champions.

And Barkley is the reason why Philadelphia will be taking the Lombardi Trophy home from New Orleans.

What a difference it has made for the Eagles to have Barkley on the roster after he joined them as a free agent in March.

Of course, Barkley got to leave the New York Giants after seven seasons, so that’s definitely a step up in teams and organizations.

All Barkley has done is put up one of the best running back seasons in NFL history by rushing for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns in 16 regular season games. He is the ninth player in NFL history to top 2,000 rushing yards.

He has continued to run wild in the postseason with 119 yards against the Green Bay Packers and 205 yards and two scores against the Los Angeles Rams. He has a 6.4 average in the playoffs.

That is 2,329 rushing yards overall. Barry Sanders might even blush a little bit at that output. (We know Eric Dickerson won’t).

It certainly helps that the Eagles have one of the top offensive lines in the NFL. You know, who needs Jason Kelce anyway?

Cam Jurgens replaced Kelce at center and is one of three Philadelphia offensive linemen who were named to the Pro Bowl. The others are guard Landon Dickerson and tackle Lane Johnson—the latter will draw major consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts passed for 18 touchdowns and rushed for 14 scores in the regular season. Barkley’s productivity has taken pressure off Hurts, and that will pay huge dividends over the rest of the playoffs.

The Eagles won their first two playoff games with Hurts passing for just 131 and 128 yards while completing 28 of 41 overall.

Let’s not forget that Hurts was the best player on the field when the Eagles lost 38-35 to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl following the 2022 season. He was 27 of 38 for 304 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 70 yards, three touchdown and a two-point conversion.

With Barkley on his side, Hurts can look forward to getting that ring finger sized.

Philadelphia can also play a bit on the defensive side of the ball. C.J. Gardner-Johnson has excelled with six interceptions, and fellow safety Reed Blankenship has four.

How about linebacker Zack Baun? He was a strong special teams player and a reserve on defense for most of his four seasons with the New Orleans Saints before joining the Eagles as a free agent in March.

Suddenly, he is a Pro Bowler who racked up 151 tackles and seems to be everywhere on the field. Talk about unleashing a guy’s potential.

On the defensive line, tackle Jalen Carter is just scratching his vast potential, and he’s also headed to the Pro Bowl. He dictates game plans as opponents know running in his direction isn’t likely to gain much positive yards.

The Eagles have to get past the feel-good Washington Commanders first before they can seriously dissect their Super Bowl chances.

The teams split their two regular season meetings, with Barkley rushing for 146 yards in a 26-18 home victory on Nov. 14 and gaining 150 during a 36-33 road loss on Dec. 22.

Exactly how do the Commanders expect to stop Barkley on Sunday? They ranked 30th in rushing defense at 137.5 yards per game in the regular season. Even when they upset the Detroit Lions last weekend, Washington gave up 201 rushing yards.

The scene is set. Barkley figures to have a highly productive game against the Commanders and then get ready for one last game in his magical season.

When you break it down, it’s clear he will lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl crown.