Bijan Robinson keeps giving Falcons fans the same wild impression: the man just does not stay down.
That was on display again Sunday in Atlanta’s 20-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, when Robinson took another terrifying-looking hit that had all the markings of a season-changing injury. On T.J.
Watt's pick-six of Cooper Rush, the 24-year-old was clotheslined into another stratosphere when Chris Lindstrom fell onto his leg, bending it in a direction it should not go. The reaction was immediate.
Achilles? ACL?
It looked that bad.
Instead, Robinson got up and walked off.
I honestly don’t know how Bijan survived this brutal hit.
That’s a serious knee injury 99/100 times. (@FalconsKingdom) pic.twitter.com/kNncfTOysn
- Rise Up Bijan (@RiseUpReader) September 14, 2026
For Falcons fans, it was just the latest entry in a growing file of reasons to believe Robinson might be built differently. He has already spent his career taking brutal shots and somehow finding his way back to his feet. Sunday added another example.
And it came in the middle of a heavy workload. With Rush making his first start for Atlanta, Robinson became the offense’s focal point in Pittsburgh.
He finished with 21 carries for 83 yards and added eight catches for 90 yards and a touchdown. His 173 scrimmage yards accounted for most of Atlanta’s production.
That makes the hit even more alarming. Robinson was already carrying the load, and then he took one of those hits that usually ends a player’s day. He stayed in the game anyway.
It also brought back a familiar memory from his college days at Texas. In 2020 against Texas Tech, Robinson tried to hurdle a defender, got flipped completely over, landed awkwardly on his head and neck, and still got up and walked off the field. The clip became one of the defining visuals of his Texas career.
Holy crap. Bijan Robinson somehow jogged off the field after this. #Texas #Longhorns pic.twitter.com/t7VI0HMF3B
- Chris Tavarez (@ChrisTavarez) September 26, 2020
That kind of resilience is part of what makes Robinson so valuable. It is also why the Falcons cannot afford to take it for granted. They cannot simply assume he will keep bouncing back from massive punishment every week, and that is part of why they paid him the money they did.
Robinson has already shown he can absorb punishment. Texas proved it, and Pittsburgh proved it again. But “invincible” is a fan label, not a medical one.
Atlanta still needs to protect the player who drives its offense. He is too important to be soaking up unnecessary punishment, especially if the quarterback situation eventually settles down and the pressure on the run game eases.
For one afternoon in Pittsburgh, though, Falcons fans got the version they have come to expect: Robinson took the shot, kept moving, and finished with 29 touches and Atlanta’s only touchdown. He was the heartbeat of the offense.
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Drake Londons Frustration Said Everything About Atlantas Offensive Mess
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London finished with two catches for 29 yards, a modest line that fit the larger story of an offense that looked out of sync from the start. With Cooper Rush starting because of injuries to Michael Penix and Tua Tagovailoa, the quarterback picture remains unsettled, and the larger concern for Atlanta is whether there is any quick fix for an offense that has already started to feel stuck. [Read more 🡒]