Saquon Barkley is selected as top running back by the AP after a record-setting season

Saquon Barkley's first season in Philadelphia featured record performances on the field, a Super Bowl title and a new contract that is the richest ever for a running back.

Barkley's performance with the Eagles also helped him score the honor of being voted the top running back in the league by The Associated Press.

A panel of eight AP Pro Football Writers ranked the top five players at running back, basing selections on current status entering the 2025 season. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second- through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.

Barkley got seven first-place votes and one second to win the voting easily. Baltimore's Derrick Henry was the only other player selected on all eight ballots and came in second with one first-place vote, five seconds, one third and one fifth.

Detroit's Jahmyr Gibbs got the remaining two second-place votes and finished third. Atlanta's Bijan Robinson and San Francisco's Christian McCaffrey rounded out the top five.

Indianapolis' Jonathan Taylor, Green Bay's Josh Jacobs and Tampa Bay's Bucky Irving also received votes.

Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards in the regular season, falling 101 short of breaking Eric Dickerson’s regular-season record because he was rested rather than playing in a meaningless Week 18 game. His 2,504 yards rushing including the playoffs broke Terrell Davis’ record of 2,476 and featured a record seven TD runs of at least 60 yards.

Barkley parlayed that into a two-year contract extension worth $41.2 million with $36 million guaranteed, which is the richest ever for a running back.

Anyone expecting Henry to drop off in his 30s was disappointed last season when a move to Baltimore helped spark a resurgence to his career. Henry, who turned 31 in January, rushed for 1,921 yards last season for the most ever for a player after turning 30, topping the 1,860 yards Tiki Barber had at age 30 in 2005.

Henry has the 11th-most yards ever in a season and the most for a player who didn't win a rushing title as he remains one of the best pure rushers in the game.

Skeptics questioned the decision by Detroit to draft Gibbs 12th overall in 2023, but he has more than delivered in his first two seasons as a dangerous runner and receiver. After a strong rookie season, Gibbs took a big step last season when he rushed for 1,412 yards and 16 TDs to go with 517 yards receiving and four more scores.

Gibbs' 36 overall touchdowns in the regular season and playoffs are the second most ever for a player in his first two seasons, trailing only the 37 for Hall of Famer Curtis Martin.

Picked eighth overall in 2023, Robinson has quickly earned his place among the top running backs in the league thanks to his skill as a runner and receiver.

Robinson ranked fourth among running backs last season in yards from scrimmage (1,887), tied for sixth in touchdowns (15) and second in first downs (102).

Injuries to his Achilles tendon and knee hampered McCaffrey last season as he played only four games after winning AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2023. But when he's healthy, there are few players more productive than McCaffrey, as evidenced by his 2,023 yards from scrimmage and 21 TDs in 16 games in 2023.

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FILE - San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) warms up before an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024 in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke, File)

FILE - Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) runs the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. The Panthers defeated the Falcons 44-38. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik, File(

FILE - Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) runs past Washington Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil (0) during the first half of an NFL football divisional playoff game, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Rey Del Rio, File)

FILE - Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) carries the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the third quarter of an NFL divisional playoff football game, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus, File)

FILE - Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) rushes for a touchdown against the Washington Commanders during the second half of the NFC Championship NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton, File)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The spread of famine has been averted in Gaza yet the situation remains critical with the entire strip still facing starvation, the world's leading authority on food crises said Friday.

The new report by The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, comes months after the group said famine was occurring in Gaza City and likely to spread across the territory without a ceasefire and an end to humanitarian aid restrictions.

There were “notable improvements” in food security and nutrition following an October ceasefire and no famine has been detected, the report said. Still, the IPC warned the situation remains “highly fragile” and the entire Gaza Strip is in danger of starvation with nearly 2,000 people facing catastrophic levels of hunger through April.

In the worst-case scenario, including renewed conflict and a halt of aid, the whole strip is at risk of famine. Needs remain immense and sustained, expanded and unhindered aid is required, the IPC said.

The Israeli military agency in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, known as COGAT, said Friday it strongly rejected the findings.

The agency adheres to the ceasefire and allows the agreed amount of aid to reach the strip, COGAT said, noting the aid quantities “significantly exceed the nutritional requirements of the population” in Gaza according to accepted international methodologies, including the United Nations.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Friday it also rejects the findings, saying the IPC’s report doesn’t reflect reality in Gaza and more than the required amount of aid was reaching the strip.

Israel’s government has rejected the IPC's past findings, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling the previous report an “outright lie.”

The report's findings come as the shaky U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas reaches a pivotal point as Phase 1 nears completion, with the remains of one hostage still in Gaza. The more challenging second phase has yet to be implemented and both sides have accused the other of violating the truce.

The IPC in August confirmed the grim milestone of famine for the first time in the Middle East and warned it could spread south to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. More than half a million people in Gaza, about a quarter of its population, faced catastrophic levels of hunger, with many at risk of dying from malnutrition-related causes, the August report said.

Friday's report said the spread of famine had been offset by a significant reduction in conflict, a proposed peace plan and improved access for humanitarian and commercial food deliveries.

There is more food on the ground and people now have two meals daily, up from one meal each day in July. That situation “is clearly a reversal of what had been one of the most dire situations where we were during the summer," Antoine Renard, the World Food Program’s director for the Palestinian territories, told U.N. reporters in a video briefing from Gaza City Thursday.

Food access has “significantly improved,” he said, warning that the greatest challenge now is adequate shelter for Palestinians, many of whom are soaked and living in water-logged tents. Aid groups say nearly 1.3 million Palestinians need emergency shelter as winter sets in.

Displacement is one of the key drivers behind the food insecurity, with more than 70% of Gaza's population living in makeshift shelters and relying on assistance. Other factors such as poor hygiene and sanitation as well as restricted access to food are also exacerbating the hunger crisis, the IPC said.

While humanitarian access has improved compared with previous analysis periods, that access fluctuates daily and is limited and uneven across the strip, the IPC said.

To prevent further loss of life, expanded humanitarian assistance including food, fuel, shelter and healthcare is urgently needed, according to the group's experts, who warned that over the next 12 months more than 100,000 children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition and require treatment.

Figures recently released by Israel’s military suggest it has not met the ceasefire stipulation of allowing 600 trucks of aid into Gaza each day, though Israel disputes that finding. American officials with the U.S.-led center coordinating aid shipments into Gaza also say deliveries have reached the agreed levels.

Aid groups say despite increase of assistance, aid is still not reaching everyone in need after suffering two years of war.

“This is not a debate about truck numbers or calories on paper, it’s about whether people can actually access food, clean water, shelter and health care safely and consistently. Right now, they cannot,” said Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s policy lead for Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.

People must be able to rebuild their homes, grow food and recover and the conditions for that are still being denied, she said.

Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

FILE - Palestinian women struggle to receive donated food at a community kitchen in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, File)