The Atlanta Falcons stunned the football world at home on Monday night with a 24-14 win over the Buffalo Bills. It was especially shocking since it was just a few weeks ago that the Falcons proved themselves capable of getting blanked by the Carolina Panthers 30-0.
The story of the night was running back Bijan Robinson, who ran 19 times for 170 yards (8.9 yards per carry) and a career-high 81-yard touchdown. He also added six catches for 68 yards for a total of 238 yards from scrimmage.
Did you need him to bail you out of a big Monday-night fantasy hole like I did? Well, I did and he did.
“He’s the best player in football,” Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said after the game. “I’ve said it multiple times.”
Wide receiver Drake London said that Robinson was simply made to be an NFL running back.
“There are some people who are just born to be a certain athlete,” London said. “Like you have certain people who are born to be basketball players, such as LeBron (James). You have people who are born to be football players, like they have the perfect body shape for it. Now, (Robinson) goes out there, and it’s like art. It’s amazing to see.”
Bijan Robinson on pace to set NFL record for scrimmage yards
If you had a top-two pick in your fantasy draft and skipped out on Bijan, I’m sorry in advance. This is the Bijan the Falcons thought they were getting when they made him the eighth-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith points out that if Bijan keeps his current pace he’s going to set the single-season NFL record for yards from scrimmage in a season.
“If he keeps up his current pace of 164 scrimmage yards per game, Robinson would finish the season with 2,795 yards from scrimmage this season,” Smith writes. “The current record of 2,509 yards was set by Titans running back Chris Johnson in 2009. Johnson broke the record in a 16-game season, and Robinson is actually on pace to break Johnson’s record in the 16th game of this season.
“Robinson is on pace to run for 1,647 yards and add 1,149 receiving yards. He’s on pace to join Roger Craig in 1985, Marshall Faulk in 1999 and Christian McCaffrey in 2019 as the only players to top 1,000 yards both rushing and receiving in a season.”
Smith did note – and I’d like to echo for emphasis – that it’s now a 17-game season. Don’t get me started on the huge effect that has on single-season records.
Bijan Robinson set some other records on Monday night
Tori McElhaney of AtlantaFalcons.com helps us out with some more impressive statistics from Bijan’s ginormous night.
“Robinson’s 81-yard touchdown tied Michael Turner’s 81-yard run against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012 as the second-longest rushing touchdown in Falcons history,” McElhaney writes. “Both players are behind Warrick Dunn, who had a 90-yard touchdown run against the New York Giants in 2006. Robinson’s touchdown was the longest run by any NFL player so far this season. It was the longest rushing touchdown in a “Monday Night Football” game since Matt Breida had an 83-yard touchdown run for the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5 of the 2019 season.
“Robinson’s 822 scrimmages yards this season are the fourth-most by any player through his first five games in the Super Bowl era. Christian McCaffrey was the last player to do so in 2019. Prior to that, it was Barber in 2004. And then before that? O.J. Simpson in the 1970s.”
Bijan is also etching himself in some prime-time record books as well. It’s even more impressive these days when you consider that “prime time” can include all the Thursday games now too (and probably more).
“Robinson’s 170 rushing yards were the most ever by a Falcon in a prime-time game,” McElhaney continues. “He is just the second player in NFL history to have at least 170 rushing yards and 60 receiving yards in a prime-time game. He joins former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber, who gained 203 rushing yards and 60 receiving yards on New Year’s Eve in 2005, as the only players to do so.”
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