How Can Dolphins Handle Bijan Robinson, Falcons Rushing Attack?

ATLANTA, Ga – The Atlanta Falcons are back at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this weekend, eager to get back on the winning side of things against a reeling Miami Dolphins. The AFC squad will come to Atlanta having lost its last three games, but bottoming out against another struggling Cleveland Browns team. 

A struggling defense is at the heart of a lot of their issues this season. 

Through seven weeks of action, the Dolphins’ defense ranks near the bottom of nearly every statistical category in the NFL, but especially with their rush defense. No team in the NFL gives up more explosive plays (34) or yards on the ground (159.3 yards per game) than the Dolphins. 

Just last week, Miami gave up 84 yards and three touchdowns to rookie running back Quinshon Judkins. Now, they will have the displeasure of facing off against one of the league’s best running backs in Bijan Robinson. 

“Pack mentality,” Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said about how they plan on slowing him down. “You have to be sound, but you have to be urgent. You have to have multiple players in the vicinity to make him stop his feet and have a group of people putting their pads on him at once. If you are in space and he's coming up on you, you have to shoot your guns and wrap. You can't just try to knock them down with a shoulder pad. You'd better wrap up.”

Robinson is one of the league’s best at making players miss in the open field, and he will present the Miami defense with a lot of issues. 

Before last week, the Falcons’ running back had accounted for 100+ scrimmage yards in all five games to start the season. While he came up just short of that mark in Week 7 (92 scrimmage yards), he is still an incredible 152.33 yards per game. The elite running back should get back on track this week against the Dolphins. 

"We've obviously been moving him around all over the place," Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said about how teams defend Bijan Robinson. "I mean, it's a rolodex of coverages that you're seeing, fronts, just like we're trying to throw them off balance, they're doing the same, and so every week we're kind of ready for what we think is going to happen and contingency plans and how they end up handling being in some of those oddball locations.”

When it is not Robinson in the Falcons’ backfield, Tyler Allgeier is also back there, making things difficult for opposing rush defense. After not hearing his name called against San Francisco all too often (just four carries), it would be reasonable to expect that number to be a little higher this week. 

This duo leads the charge for a unit that ranks fourth in the NFL in rushing yards per game (136.3) this season. Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson will likely lean on these two on Sunday to generate a large portion of the offense, but especially when they get down to the red zone. 

Atlanta, for how potent they have been at picking up yardage, has struggled getting into the end zone. Against a Dolphins team giving up nearly 30 points per game, they may find their groove, but it will all start on the ground.