Bijan Robinson heads into Week 9 as the NFL’s rushing leader, even with the Atlanta Falcons stuck in a rough patch that has seen them drop three of their last four.
Robinson hasn’t cracked 86 rushing yards in any of those games, a stretch that lines up with Atlanta’s recent slide. Still, his season-long production has kept him at the top of the league leaderboard. He enters Week 9 with 780 rushing yards, just ahead of Detroit Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs, who has 773, and Kansas City Chiefs RB Kenneth Walker, who sits at 770.
Gibbs and Walker have both already gone through their bye weeks, which gives them a higher per-game average than Robinson. Even so, the Falcons back is still sitting on the league lead and is due for one of the kind of outings he’s made a habit of delivering.
Bucky Irving made a big jump into the top five after ripping off 170 rushing yards against the Falcons in Week 8. He now ranks fourth with 728 rushing yards, while Buffalo Bills running back James Cook is fifth at 707.
The rushing race is one thing, but the passing leaderboard is where Falcons fans may want to brace themselves. Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love is first in the NFL with 2,246 passing yards, followed by Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford at 2,146.
Former Falcons QB Kirk Cousins is right there in the mix at No. 3 with 2,124 passing yards, and he also ranks second in the league with 19 touchdown passes. Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow is just behind him with 2,115 passing yards, while Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott rounds out the top five at 2,046.
Atlanta will try to get back on track against Burrow and the 5-2 Bengals this weekend in Madrid, Spain. The Falcons are coming off a 16-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 8.
Sunday’s game kicks off at 9:30 a.m. ET and airs nationally on the NFL Network.
In Other News...
Falcons Loss Raised A Bigger Concern Than Just The Weather
The rain in Tampa made for an ugly afternoon, but the conditions only explained part of what went wrong for the Falcons. Atlanta lost to the Buccaneers in a game where the passing game never found footing, and Michael Penix Jr. struggled badly as the offense sputtered through a storm-soaked script.
The deeper concern was how thoroughly the Falcons were beaten at the line of scrimmage. Tampa Bay barely needed to throw, yet still controlled the game on the ground, piling up 324 rushing yards while Atlanta managed less than 100 of its own. For a team trying to establish a more balanced identity, that kind of gap is harder to dismiss than the weather. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Suddenly Have A Tua Tagovailoa Decision Fans Didnt Expect
The Falcons are already dealing with the fallout of a significant loss, and the quarterback conversation has taken on an unexpected edge with Michael Penix Jr. now in the starting role. From Atlantas perspective, that naturally shifts the focus to how the rest of the roster is managed, especially when a name like Tua Tagovailoa enters the discussion in trade speculation.
What makes the idea even more interesting is the team on the other side of it, with Baltimore suddenly searching for help under center. The Ravens quarterback situation has been thinned by injuries, which is why a potential move involving Tagovailoa has started to surface as a possibility, even if it remains only a speculative one for now. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Fans Should Resist One Easy Kirk Cousins Overreaction
Kirk Cousins has wasted little time making Atlantas decision look more complicated in hindsight. After the Falcons signed him to a four-year deal and then moved on after two seasons, he landed with the Las Vegas Raiders and has been productive enough to keep the conversation alive around the league. For Falcons fans, it is the kind of development that naturally invites second-guessing, especially when a quarterback the team once committed to is still performing at a high level elsewhere.
But the bigger question in Atlanta is not whether Cousins can still play. It is whether the Falcons made the right long-term call by turning to Michael Penix Jr., whose early run has been uneven and included a rough outing in Week 8. Penix remains the player many around the organization view as the better bet for the future, which is why Cousins success in Las Vegas should not automatically turn into a referendum on the Falcons direction just yet. [Read more 🡒]