Falcon Report

Falcons' Bijan Robinson Delivers Strong Message to Eagles RB Saquon Barkley

Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson tweeted a message to fellow running back Saquon Barkley after the Philadelphia Eagles advanced to the NFC championship game.
Dave Holcomb|
Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson
Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

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Atlanta Falcons

The cities of Atlanta and Philadelphia battle over quite a few things related to sports -- the NL East and the best bird-nicknamed football team to name a couple.

But there appears to be only admiration between the two city's starting NFL running backs. Well, at least a wonderment for Saquon Barkley from Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson.

Barkley ran for 205 yards and two touchdowns in Philadelphia's 28-22 divisional round victory against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. The performance not only left Robinson in awe but also grateful.

"Man Saquon thank you for making us RB's look amazing. This position is looking great," tweeted Robinson along with a fire and happy-face emoji.

Whether to bring in more eyeballs for the Baltimore Ravens-Buffalo Bills playoff showdown or just simply because they're two quarterbacks, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen appear to be the two finalists for the MVP award. But Barkley should receive a lot more consideration than he recently has.

In his first season with the Eagles, Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns. Philadelphia made a first-round exit in the postseason last season one year after being NFC champions. But with Barkley, the Eagles are one home win away from another Super Bowl berth.

In the divisional round, the Eagles won despite quarterback Jalen Hurts throwing for only 128 yards and no other player other than Barkley eclipsing 70 yards from scrimmage.

Barkley also had 27 receiving yards. Even still, his 205 rushing yards was greater than what the rest of the Eagles did on offense combined.

That performance shouldn't count toward the MVP race, as it came in the playoffs. But it will surely matter when evaluating running backs this offseason.

Barkley is single-handedly raising the value of his position. Well, maybe not single-handely because Robinson is pretty great too. The Falcons running back rushed for 1,456 yards and caught 61 passes for an additional 431 yards.

Robinson is still waiting for his turn to shine in front of a playoff audience. But this January, he seems content settling for Barkley showing how important his position still is.

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Dave Holcomb
DAVE HOLCOMB

Dave Holcomb writer covering the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Braves and Fantasy Sports for On SI. Holcomb has lived in the Atlanta area since 2017. He began his sports journalism career with The Star Ledger in northern New Jersey in 2013. During his career, he has written for numerous online and print publications. Holcomb has also self-published four books, including a novel in 2021. In addition to On SI, Holcomb also currently writes for Heavy.com and Athlon Sports.

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