Lined up in his own end zone, Bijan Robinson took a handoff from Kirk Cousins late in the second quarter, juked left through an arm tackle, disappeared in traffic and emerged in a blur, outrunning the Los Angeles Rams on a 93-yard sprint to pay dirt.
This has been a trying season for the Atlanta Falcons, who have fallen well short of expectations. The same cannot be said for Robinson, a one-man highlight reel in 2025, who befuddled the Rams and dazzled viewers with a 229-yard showing in a 27-24 win on Monday night.
“That was just one of those plays where I had to make a guy miss in the hole,” Robinson said of the 93-yarder. “I was trying to find another crease and the crease came about, and I was like, man, I’ve got to take off. We don’t got a jumbotron here, so I was like, alright, either I don’t get caught or just run as fast as you can. I kept kind of looking back to see if I was free and we got the touchdown, so that was a really big momentum shift for our team.”
Unlike the final score, the Rams weren’t close to getting Robinson on his TD run, which was the longest of his career, the longest scoring run in Falcons history and the longest score from scrimmage in the NFL this season.
It was the lasting memory of another sensational night for Robinson, who had the Rams spinning to the tune of 229 scrimmage yards (195 rushing on 22 carries, 34 receiving on a team-high five receptions) with two total touchdowns, including a 4-yard reception from Cousins that started the Falcons’ 21-0 blitz.
As the Falcons have long been eliminated from the postseason -- where they’ve yet to venture in Robinson’s three seasons -- the burgeoning superstar has made a habit of coming up big on the largest stage afforded him: prime-time games.
In a 24-14 Monday night upset of the Buffalo Bills back in Week 6, Robinson had a then-career-long 81-yard TD run as part of 238-yard night.
Only Robinson and Jerry Rice have had back-to-back games with 200-plus scrimmage yards in Monday Night Football history. He's averaged 180.4 scrimmage yards per prime-time game this year.
Though Atlanta continues to search for a winning season and a playoff berth -- having achieved neither since 2017, it’s clear the Falcons have a winner in their backfield.
Robinson likely won many a fantasy football championship for fans across the country Monday and has most certainly entered himself into contention to be this season’s AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
Through 16 games this season, Robinson has proved himself to be a model of dynamic consistency. His 2,255 scrimmage yards are tops in the NFL, his 1,445 rushing yards are second, his 76 receptions are second, as well, among running backs and his 348 touches are third.
“I mean when I got here Day 1, I watched him catch the football and it was like, ‘Oh, he’s a receiver as far as his hands,'" Cousins said. “Late hands, tracks it really well, very natural. I just find myself with a similar approach as when I was with Dalvin Cook: Get the ball out of my hands and into his, and better things happen. That’s kind of my mindset.”
Robinson's latest tour de force on Monday was a perfect example of being a true total package. As a pass catcher, a runner getting the hard yards or breaking big gains, he came through for the Falcons throughout the game, igniting them early and helping them thwart a Los Angeles comeback late.
“It’s whatever I can do to help this team win,” Robinson said of his workload. “I feel great right now. All I’ve got to do is get my maintenance treatment. It’s fun, man. Breaking tackles and doing stuff like that, that’s a part of the game. Obviously, the coaches have a plan for me and I always let them know if I need a break or something like that. They always give me a couple plays to catch my breath. We’re always on the same page in that aspect, so it really helps me out a lot. I know when there’s 20, 20-plus carries and then you’re catching the football, too, I know it can definitely get a lot, but I’m only doing it to help this team win.”
Robinson had seven touches over Atlanta’s first two drives, including his 4-yard TD catch to put the Falcons on the board.
Two offensive drives later, he turned in his one-man, 13-second scoring drive with the 93-yard score, which saw him top out at 21.25 mph, per Next Gen Stats.
Nearly as thrilling was a third quarter run in which he broke a backfield tackle of Pro Bowler Jared Verse, then broke the ankles of a couple more L.A. defenders before a 31-yard gain, a run in which he gained 35.2 yards after contact, per Next Gen.
In the fourth quarter, he had seven carries for 34 yards as Atlanta fended off L.A. for its third straight win.
“I said this 18 weeks ago, he’s the best player in football,” Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said of a statement he’s made multiple times this year. “It’s just as simple as that. He’s unbelievable. Everything he does for our football team. From running the football to catching the football to protecting to being a leader. He’s also our chaplain. He does it all. He’s unbelievable.”
Myriad Falcons fans are likely to be left wondering what could’ve been this season for Atlanta, but they can’t ask the same about Robinson, who continues to back his head coach’s claim of being the best in the game, despite plying his trade for a struggling franchise.
“We fell short of the main goal, but we’re in the NFL,” Robinson said of failing to make the playoffs. “We can’t give up on anything in this league. That’s how injuries happen. That’s how bad things happen. That’s how you lose the identity of a team. So, for us, we made it known as soon as we got that elimination that we were gonna finish this season off the right way, finish it off strong, so we can bleed into next season.”