Just a month prior, Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris proclaimed his star running back to be the best player in the NFL.
As Bijan Robinson sped past and through Buffalo Bills defenders on Monday night, it was hard not to nod in agreement with Morris' proclamation.
Highlighted by a career-long 81-yard touchdown run, Robinson had a sensational evening to help the Falcons to a 24-14 win and again elicit the ultimate compliment of being the best in the business from his coach.
"He's the best player in football," Morris said of Robinson, who posted a team-record 238 scrimmage yards. "I've said it multiple times. I can't say it enough. You can always have your pick. You can always go out there and figure out who you want to vote for, but in my opinion he's the best player in football."
For the majority of Monday night, it was rather clear who the best player was in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Robinson's final staggering numbers saw him tie his single-game high with 170 rushing yards on 19 carries (8.9 yard per attempt!). He added six receptions for 68 yards to add up to the aforementioned 238 scrimmage yards -- the third-highest tally in Monday Night Football chronicle, per NFL Research. Through six weeks, Robinson has 484 rushing yards and 338 receiving, having joined Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas in 1991 as the only players to rack up 450-plus rushing yards and 300-plus receiving through the first five games of a season. Thomas was voted AP NFL Most Valuable Player that year.
"It's like a three-point shooter," Robinson said of having a showing such as Monday's. "I've heard that analogy with Steph Curry, like when he starts getting in the groove, the basket looks this big to him and it seems like he can't miss. With me, with the [offensive] line, I feel like with them, they're all three-point shooters. They're all spot-up shooters and they're just creating space for me, for Ty (Allgeier) to do what we do. When those guys are on, when those guys are clicking … with me, I just use the God-given talent with the vision and stuff like that. It just opens up and when I find those creases, you've got to take advantage of it and you've got to make those guys miss tackles and make them not want to be there anymore. That's what we did tonight."
Robinson was a whirling blend of speed, quickness and might for much of the game, but it was one particular play that will be run on loop to spotlight his performance.
On first-and-5 from the Falcons' 19-yard line, Robinson took a Michael Penix Jr. handoff and burst through the right side of the offensive line, smoothly cutting inside and then breaking back to the sideline. With a big gain had, Robinson looked to be caught by the Bills' Cole Bishop, but somehow, someway, the Falcons' dynamo was able to swat away the tackle attempt, keeping his balance and regaining his stride en route to six. According to Next Gen Stats, the 81-yard score saw Robinson run a total distance of 100 yards and hit 20.17 mph.
"It was one of them plays where it was perfectly blocked up front," Robinson said. "They gave me a crease and I took advantage of that crease. Shout out to (wide receiver) Casey (Washington) for having that big block on that corner because it just let me set him up to go the yardage. It was a complete offensive effort. It was a couple blocks up front and then it was Casey's block and it was over from there. I had to break a tackle and there it was, but that's just a God-given ability right there to finish the play for my team. It was a really cool result to see it."
As was emblematic of the Falcons' night offensively, Robinson was at his peak in the first half, piling up 138 yards on 12 carries along with a pair of catches for 14 yards. Fellow former first-rounder Drake London had 147 receiving yards and a TD on nine receptions in the first half, making the tandem the first teammates with a score and 140-plus scrimmage yards each in the opening half of a game since 2007, per NFL Research.
With a stunning 21-7 lead over the Bills at halftime, Atlanta's offense cooled significantly in the second half. It was truly the Falcons' defense that led the way over the final 30 minutes, but Robinson certainly played his part.
Atlanta sealed the win with 1:47 to go after a John Parker Romo 33-yard field goal concluded a 14-play, 68-yard drive. It was a salvo in which Robinson had a carry for 5 yards and three catches for 34 yards, including a 23-yard catch-and-run. He also ran himself ragged in motion in offensive coordinator Zac Robinson's scheme, which might have been one of the contributing factors to the running back watching the final few plays from the sideline.
It was a spectacular night that left Bijan Robinson spent and the Falcons victorious.
Robinson believes the league's best player was in Atlanta on Monday, but it is reigning AP NFL Most Valuable Player Josh Allen.
"I think he's the best football player in the NFL," Robinson said of the Bills quarterback. "Shout out to the defense because they made him uncomfortable all day. It's just good for me and the whole offense to see the defense becoming who they are."
Robinson's 238 scrimmage yards bested Allen's 222 total yards in this one, lending an exclamation point to a huge win for the Falcons.
"You see it on Monday. You see it on Tuesday. You see it on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, throughout the week," Morris said of Robinson. "When he comes to work, he comes to work, and that's just what he does every single day. He comes out there ready to play."
