Bijan Robinson explains limited usage vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Atlanta Falcons secured their fourth win of the season after kicker Younghoe Koo drained a 51-yard field goal as time expired for a 16-13 walk-off win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But Atlanta did so without the services of rookie running back sensation Bijan Robinson.
Robinson had a clean bill of health and was not on the team’s injury report heading into the ball game, but after not receiving a single touch in the first half and ending the game with just one carry for three yards, questions began to loom regarding the health of Atlanta’s first-round draft selection from this year.
After the game, Falcons’ team reporter Terrin Waack got the inside scoop on Robinson’s limited role in Atlanta’s offense. The rookie rusher revealed that a serious headache is what hindered him from taking the field as much as he’d like on Sunday.
“It (started) last night, I was feeling weird,” Robinson said. “I woke up, just completely out of it. I tried to take medicine so I could be good for the game. But my head was hurting. Bad. I don’t know what was going on. I tried to go in pregame, but then coach (Arthur) Smith said, ‘We’ll be all right. Let’s get you right.'”
The plan on game day was for Robinson to dress out and see if his pain lessened during pregame warmups, which never happened, resulting in having an extremely limited role in the Falcons’ offense.
Robinson also spoke about potentially playing through the pain of his headache and balancing that with the goals and priorities of the team.
“I don’t care what I’m going through, I’m going to push through,” Robinson said. “But at the same time, I know it’s a long season. I know that Coach Smith has the best interest at heart for me. Knowing when he has a plan and we have a plan, I’m going to go with it and not bother with it. I’ll be good next week.”
Robinson has had an impressive start to his rookie year with the Falcons, entering the game as the league’s 10th-leading rusher with 401 yards on the season. He also led all running backs in the NFL with 26 receptions through six games, adding 189 receiving yards and two touchdowns to his receiving stat line.
The Falcons rushing attack was still strong without Robinson, as Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson were able to shoulder the load with Robinson supporting them from the sidelines.
“Trying to be a good teammate,” Robinson said. “Obviously I was pushing through it. But I was always trying make sure the guys – Ty, CP; the offense, the defense – were always locked in. That was my main goal. I’m super glad for how we won the game.”
Hopefully, Robinson is feeling like himself in the Falcons’ next matchup, as they take on the Tennessee Titans on the road next Sunday.