Zac Robinson Defends Falcons’ Use of Pistol Formation After Week 1 Loss

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga – Younghoe Koo stole the headlines on Monday morning, but the real issue for the Atlanta Falcons was an inability to run the football. 

This rushing attack, that was a top-10 unit in 2024 and still features dynamic weapons in Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, failed to get anything going against a stout Buccaneer front. The duo combined for just 48 yards on the ground (2.18 yards per carry), forcing their young quarterback to make 42 drop-backs in this game. 

In fact, Michael Penix Jr accounted for nearly a third of the team's 69 rushing yards. 

“Our playbook got shorter, and we were trying to run other plays to outscheme them,” a frustrated Bijan Robinson said. “We prepared for something completely different. It wasn’t about effort or anything like that. We were just outmatched in that game.”

In the days that have followed, Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has taken on a good bit of the blame for this unit’s shortcomings in the loss. When he addressed the media during the week, he said the team had a lot to clean up in terms of overall execution. 

“[There were] just some of the mistakes from an execution standpoint that can be cleaned up,” the Falcons’ offensive coordinator said. “Everybody is included with that, not just the offensive line, and we all have shared accountability with what happened on Sunday. So, a lot to clean up.” 

A lot of their shortcomings can be attributed to a Buccaneer front that ranked as a top-four unit against the run in 2024. Falcons head coach Raheem Morris made sure to give them full credit for what they were able to do Sunday. 

“Those guys did a better job than us,” Morris said. “They shed blocks and made plays, and then from a coaching standpoint, we've got to go out and get better opportunities and better looks.”

The Buccaneers are a tough matchup for any team, but the Falcons have been built to run the ball and dictate terms on the ground. On Sunday, though, they felt predictable, particularly with short-yardage situations. 

Atlanta ran the ball four separate times with one yard separating them from either a first down or a touchdown, but they only converted a single attempt. Their failure here cost them a drive (that led to the first Tampa touchdown of the day), and nearly the game if it had not been for Penix heroics on the goal line. 

Critics were quick to blame the ‘pistol’ formation, where Penix lines up a few yards behind the center with the running back lined up behind him. 

According to Robinson, the formation allows them to offer some flexibility in terms of whether they run or pass. He also says it provides them with a layer of protection in terms of which direction any run could be going. 

"The Pistol does keep you pretty balanced from a run-pass standpoint," he said. "Obviously, in the offset gun, there are tendencies to throw the football and so being able to stay completely balanced with what we're doing is what we're trying to do from a run, play-action, keeper, screen, all those things that come with it. Again, it's part of our offense.”

To Robinson’s point, the Falcons lined up in the formation 30 times against the Buccaneers (42.9% of their total snaps), running the ball 17 times and passing the ball 13 times. That said, their runs averaged just 2.2 yards per carry. 

League-wide, NFL teams ran a grand total of 115 plays in this formation last week, with the Eagles running the second-most (12). Clearly, it is a personal favorite for the Falcons’ play-caller, who says they need to figure out some answer to the problems they had Sunday. 

“That's definitely an area that we're re-grouping,” Robinson continued. “Short yardage, [we] want to make sure that we have great answers for the guys and that we can execute those plays in those crucial moments. But, definitely a big point of emphasis this week is the short yardage, getting that going and those things definitely can happen.”

Any decisions on formations will vary on a weekly basis depending on matchups. Sunday’s task, with Brian Flores and the Minnesota Vikings, will be another difficult test for the Falcons. The Vikings are one of the league’s best units against the run, and that showed in Week 1. 

Despite the challenge, and shortcomings from Week 1, Robinson remains confident that his offense has the ability to be successful. 

“Everybody knows our offensive line will all bounce back together,” he said. “But again, it's us collectively figuring it out and making sure that it's a little bit better this week.”

The Falcons will be working to make sure Sunday’s pitfalls were a blip on what otherwise becomes an explosive season. 

But if Atlanta can’t figure out its ground identity soon, especially in short-yardage, even Michael Penix’s arm may not be enough to save them.