Bijan Robinson Powers Falcons Past Cardinals in Complete Week 16 Win

GLENDALE – The Atlanta Falcons handled the Arizona Cardinals on a picture-perfect Sunday afternoon in Glendale. The win marks a back-to-back victory for just the second time in 2025, and pushed Kirk Cousins’ record as the starter to 3-3.

The veteran provided a steady hand, completing 21-of-35 passes for 197 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in the win, but it was his running back who stole the show.

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Bijan Robinson, playing in his home state of Arizona for the first time since 2023, was absolutely electric in this game. The running back finished with 168 yards (76 on the ground, 92 through the air) and a touchdown, marking the 10th time this season he surpassed 100 scrimmage yards in a single game.

If his dominance was not evident enough in this game, the Falcons had a single touchdown drive that spanned three plays and 65 yards – the only person who touched the ball was the Falcons’ running back.

“That was the Bijan drive,” Cousins joked after the game. “It was throw to Bijan, run to Bijan, [and] pass to Bijan.”

Robinson’s outstanding performance pushed him over 2,000 yards from scrimmage, marking just the third Falcons player in franchise history to reach that mark (he joins William Andrews and Jamal Anderson).

Wide receiver Drake London also made his triumphant return to the starting lineup on Sunday for the first time in four weeks. He appeared to labor at times and even had to leave the game on occasion, but he finished his day with three catches for 27 yards.

Tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. had another strong performance, continuing his incredible four-week stretch of games. He caught seven of his nine targets for 57 yards and a touchdown – pushing his four-week total to 31 catches for 168 yards and four touchdowns. Beyond the stats themselves, Pitts made several clutch plays for the Falcons. Four of his seven catches came on third down, and all of them went for a first down.

The play of the tight end was critical for a much-improved Falcons’ offense on third down. After weeks of struggles, they were able to find some success on Sunday, finishing 7-of-14 – their most conversions of the season, and their best rate since Week 4.

"It was nice to get Drake out there with Kyle and Bijan to see what our weapons really look like," Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said. "[We could] show guys what this team should look like on a consistent basis every time we're out there on the football field."

Their performance on third down led to this offense holding onto the ball for a whopping 35:34 of gametime (compared to 24:26 for Arizona), and Atlanta ran 17 more plays.

Defensively, the Falcons held Jacoby Brissett, Trey McBride, and the Cardinals’ passing offense to just 188 net yards. McBride’s frustration was evident on Arizona’s final possession, when the tight end had some words with Jessie Bates and Kaden Elliss after he had the ball pried from his grasp. The likely All-Pro finished with just 27 yards on four catches, all season lows.

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Atlanta was able to hold Arizona out of the end zone for most of the day, limiting them to six field goal attempts, of which they missed two.

The Falcons have little left to play for in 2025, but they are putting together more encouraging efforts down the stretch of the season. They will not reach the postseason or finish above .500, but they could still finish a disappointing season with some momentum for 2026.

“We're talking about our team, setting ourselves up for long-term success," Morris said. "The guys talk about it. Ownership talks about it. The fan base is talking about it, and we've gotta go out there and do it."

Cousins said this team is resilient and has remained positive down the stretch, pointing out a moment where safety Jessie Bates III got after him after he made a “less than positive” comment.

“He wouldn’t let me go negative, even though I wanted to,” the quarterback said through a smile. “Jessie’s not going to let me go in the tank, so you kinda felt that again today late in the game that somebody is going to make a play.

That play came from journeyman cornerback C.J. Henderson. The defender put the final nail in the Cardinal-colored coffin, a wonderful moment for the defender, who was only signed to the Falcons’ 53-man roster on Saturday.

C.J. Henderson, just signed to the #Falcons roster, seals a win with his first interception since 2022. Atlanta’s second win in a row. pic.twitter.com/0K1qL0J2dp
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 22, 2025

Up next, they will take on the playoff-bound Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football.