After much talk surrounding rookie running back Bijan Robinson's involvement in the offense, the Atlanta Falcons (4-6) made it an emphasis to get Robinson involved.
But still, the Falcons came up short, falling 25-23 to the Arizona Cardinals (2-8) at State Farm Stadium.
Sunday was a homecoming for Robinson, who hails from Tuscon, Arizona, and he said earlier in the week he had thousands of family members and friends in attendance. They were treated to his most productive game since rushing for 105 yards in Week 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The 21-year-old Robinson took a career-high 22 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown while adding an 11-yard reception, giving him his third 100-yard all-purpose game this season.
Robinson, even with his increased rushing workload, added more to his plate against Arizona, as he also took over punt return duties with newly anointed returner Dee Alford out with an ankle injury. He gained eight yards on his first professional return.
Drafted No. 8 overall in April, Robinson entered with high expectations and largely delivered in the season's first four weeks, rushing for 318 yards and making at least four catches in each contest.
But in the five weeks that followed, Robinson mustered only 199 yards on the ground. He'd caught just two in passes in the past three games.
With external noise building surrounding his usage, Robinson had plenty of eyes on him ... and offered a reminder of why he was made the highest-drafted running back since Saquon Barkley went No. 2 overall in 2018.
“That’s why we took him, he’s a dynamic player," Smith said. "He bounced that one for a touchdown. He’s done a lot of things and they were trying to take away certain things and we used him all over the place. When we were trying to get him the ball, there was one that we botched, but he did a nice job today.”
Robinson's day puts him at 612 rushing yards on the season, making him the second-fastest player in Falcons history to eclipse the 600-yard rushing mark, trailing only Williams Andrews' nine games in 1979.
Further, by hitting 820 yards from scrimmage, Robinson tied Andrews' record in 1979 as the fastest player to reach 800 yards from scrimmage in franchise history, taking only 10 games.
After the game, Robinson stressed how tough the loss was and noted how much room for improvement the Falcons have, but he physically felt fine after his biggest workload as a professional.
“I was good," Robinson said. "Just whatever I needed to do for the team to try to get a win. I felt good. I feel good now. Obviously, that doesn’t matter if you don’t win the game. You try to do the best you can for the offense, whether it’s run game or pass game. We’ve got to be good in both.
"Obviously, you want to pull something out with the win.”
But result aside, Robinson's homecoming was one to remember, even on a day in which the on-field result is surely one the Falcons would like to forget.
“It was awesome," Robinson said. "Just to obviously contribute to the team, but to show the people that I’m still doing all that I’ve been doing from elementary school to high school to college to the NFL. It was definitely a blessing to get that in. But like I’ve been saying, obviously you want to get the win after that too.”
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