Jan 5, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) runs the ball against the Carolina Panthers in the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Analyst predicts huge game for Falcons’ star Bijan Robinson vs. Panthers

Originally posted on Carolina Panthers on SI
By Russell Baxter | Last updated Sep 21, 2025 8:00 AM ET

The Carolina Panthers play their first home game of the season later today when they host the division rival Atlanta Falcons. It’s been a rough start to 2025 for a team that had high expectations coming into the year. The Panthers are actually 0-2 for the fourth straight year dating back to 2022.

Enter the Falcons, off an impressive 22-6 Sunday night victory at Minnesota. Raheem Morris’s club features one of the top offensive performers in the league in running back Bijan Robinson. In two games, he’s totaled 167 yards on the ground on 34 carries. He’s third on the team with nine catches, but he has a club-high 125 receiving yards. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr.’s lone TD pass of the season to date is a 50-yard connection with Robinson in Week 1 vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports certainly likes the Falcons’ chances of defeating the Panthers on Sunday. He also expects Robinson to take full advantage of Carolina’s 27th-ranked run defense.

Falcons’ RB Bijan Robinson could gash the Panthers on Sunday

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

“The Panthers are allowing 141.0 rushing yards per game,” explained Sullivan, “which is bottom third of the NFL. Bijan Robinson should have no problem ripping off multiple long runs enroute to a Falcons win…”

A year ago, Dave Canales’s club and coordinator Ejiro Evero’s defense finished dead last in the NFL in allowing a stunning 179.8 yards per game on the ground. In two games vs. the Falcons in 2024, Carolina surrendered 198 yards and 227 yards rushing, respectively, in Week 6 and Week 18.

In the first meeting, Robinson ran 15 times for 95 yards and two scores in Atlanta’s 38-20 win at Charlotte. In a 44-38 overtime loss at home to the Panthers three months later, the 2024 Pro Bowler logged 28 carries for 170 yards and two more touchdowns.

This article first appeared on Carolina Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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