Bijan Robinson has proven this season that he’s one of the NFL’s true superstars.
Despite that, the Atlanta Falcons gave him a season-worst usage on Sunday in their loss to the Chicago Bears.
On paper, it doesn’t add up — against an explosive offense like the Bears, the Falcons relied on Robinson less than they have all season.
But it’s really just a disappointing day for Robinson, one that’s very possible to explain but also doesn’t make it any easier for Falcons fans to come to grips with Bijan’s quiet day at the office.
Why Bijan Robinson Got Just 9 Carries
Most of the math here comes back to the amount of time that the Bears had the football.
On Sunday, the Bears ran 73 offensive plays compared to 50 for the Falcons. That was a 40-20 ratio in the first half.
The Bears also possessed the ball for 40 minutes and 8 seconds, while the Falcons had it for 19 minutes and 52 seconds. That was worse in the first half, too — The Bears had it for more than 22 of the 30 minutes in the first half.
So for a while, the Falcons just hardly had the ball. Robinson had four carries in the first half, and he was his usual self as he averaged more than 10 yards per carry on those touches. Atlanta just didn’t have the ball enough to give it to Bijan more.
Then in the second half as they played catch-up from multiple scores down, Atlanta ended up throwing the ball a ton. Michael Penix Jr. attempted 33 passes (completing 19 for 225 yards and three TDs) while also being sacked five times for 31 yards.
Maybe the most surprising thing is that Bijan wasn’t targeted in the second half. He had two catches in the first half, and they went for negative-5 and negative-3 yards, a total of minus-8. And then even as the Falcons aired it out in the second half, there were no Bijan targets. He did have to stay in and block a good amount as the Bears often brought extra blitzers.
All told, it was nine carries for 61 yards for Robinson, and a day he won’t remember too fondly.
How This Compares to Bijan Robinson’s Career-Worst Games
This tied for the fourth-fewest carries Robinson has had in a game in his career.
He had a one-run game as a rookie, then had a game with seven carries for 11 yards that year.
He ran seven times once in his second season, picking up 28 yards, along with four catches for 46 yards.
And then once last season, Robinson ran nine times for 25 yards to go with three catches for 23 yards.
The good news for Robinson is this was far from his least efficient game. The bad news was that he didn’t get the ball more.
The Falcons took a painful loss in Week 5 in overtime to the Ravens, and they couldn’t bounce back against the Bears. A lack of Bijan was a big part of the reason why.
Bijan Robinson Got Just 9 Carries — Here’s Why Falcons RB Flopped in Loss to Bears