Falcons continue to get production from ‘confident’ Bijan Robinson

ATLANTA — Bijan Robinson doesn’t just feel comfortable, he feels confident.

The difference allows Robinson to keep reaching new heights in his second year. The confidence has shone throughout the season, but its become blinding in the last four contests where he’s recorded at least 90 rushing yards — and more than 100 scrimmage yards. In the Falcons’ 34-7 win against the New York Giants Robinson posted 103 total yards and two touchdowns, his third multi-touchdown game of the year.

“I just have a high confidence right now in the run game and in myself and Tyler [Allgeier] and the O-Line,” Robinson said. “Every time we touch the ball I feel that we can break a big one no matter what the run scheme is. I feel that that’s just a blessing for all of us. Obviously [it] takes time, I had to get comfortable in college. Here in the NFL when you start getting your feet down and start understanding everything around you, your confidence becomes really high. I think it’s grown a lot since this last year.”

Robinson has become the focal point of this Falcons offense through 15 games and is building on a stellar rookie campaign. They know they can rely on Robinson, especially on a day when rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. makes his first NFL start.

“You want the run game to be as explosive as possible for a guy like Mike coming in [with his] first snap,” Robinson said. “As we help him, he helps us the same way and getting guys back up with his talent and with his ability to get the ball downfield.”

The saying the run game is a rookie quarterback’s best friend rang true against the Giants, but this isn’t anything entirely new, the Falcons have relied on Robinson all season, and he’s delivered.

“Bijan has been outstanding all year, the things he’s able to do — he’s special,” Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said. “If it wasn’t for another guy out in Philly he’d get a lot more recognition across the league. That guy’s having a special year, and Bijan is not far behind.”

Morris was alluding to Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. After Sunday’s games in Week 16, Barkley leads the NFL in rushing and scrimmage yards while Robinson ranks No. 4 and No. 3 in those categories, respectively.

Robinson reached 1,000 rushing yards in a single season for the first time in his career during the Monday night victory against the Las Vegas Raiders and continues to set new standards for himself.

In Week 16, Robinson reached 3,000 career scrimmage yards in the second-fewest games in franchise history. He reached that mark in 32 games, one shy of the all-time franchise mark of 31 games, set by running back William Andrews in 1980. He’s also the first Falcon to record 100 scrimmage yards 11 times in a single season since running back Warrick Dunn did so in 2005. Dunn ended his career with more than 15,000 yards from scrimmage, including 7,616 yards during his six seasons in Atlanta.

“Last year we were rookies, there’s always some stuff to improve but you can see the constant growth,” offensive lineman Matthew Bergon said of Robinson. ” … It’s just coming to life, and I think it’s gonna keep getting better.”