Falcons Show 'A Lot of Belief' in Bijan During Win vs. Packers
The Atlanta Falcons are 2-0 to start the season for the first time since 2017, largely thanks to the immediate impact of first-round running back Bijan Robinson.
Despite many questioning why the Falcons decided to spend the No. 8 overall pick on a position they already could consider a strength following last season's emergence of then-rookie Tyler Allgeier, that hasn't stopped Robinson from proving he was worthy of the selection.
In his first two games as a pro, Robinson has totaled 180 yards rushing on 29 carries, to go along with 75 yards and a touchdown with 10 catches as a play-maker out of the backfield.
Even after a standout performance in the Week 1 win over the Carolina Panthers from Allgeier, who rushed for a team-leading 75 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries, the rookie was fed the ball on the game's biggest play.
Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson tries to break a tackle against the Green Bay Packers.
"But we've got a lot of belief in him and Tyler and all these guys," Falcons coach Arthur Smith said about Robinson and the running back room. "When we get [Cordarrelle Patterson] back hopefully soon, it'll add one more element to the offense.”
As the Falcons were looking to complete the 12-point comeback in the fourth quarter against the Green Bay Packers, Smith was left with a tough decision on fourth and one. With the Falcons already deep into Green Bay territory while trailing by two points, do you "go for broke" and go for it, or settle for a field goal and hope the defense gets a stop? ... Smith chose the former.
And instead of running the all-too-powerful quarterback sneak play that has become the most successful short-yardage play in the NFL over the last year, thanks to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Falcons called a toss play for Robinson, which resulted in a seven-yard gain to move the chains.
"I thought he looked good on that last run," Smith said post-game of the fourth-down conversion.
While that big gamble didn't ultimately pay off like the Falcons would've liked it to, as they were forced to settle for a field goal just three plays later, it was a sign that Robinson could be the true difference-maker the Falcons have lacked in years past.
“He's a competitor," Desmond Ridder said of Robinson after the win. "Like I said, he's a competitor, but he's also humble. He's going to go out there and obviously put his head down and go to work every single day, which he has, and then shows up on Sunday, and so for us, he's a huge attribute to our offense, and he does nothing but good things for us.”
