From @bison626 on X/Twitter
What is our offensive concept?
The Falcons have made it no secret that their bread and butter, the engine of which makes them go is running the football, particularly with Bijan Robinson.
We have seen Robinson do some crazy things this year that has helped Atlanta to a win. When the Falcons get that part of their game taken away, though, they have yet to find a consistent counter-punch.
The Falcons are 3-4 right now. In their three wins, Robinson’s averages are as followed: 19 carries, roughly 130 rushing yards with 6.6 yards per carry. In their four losses, his averages are much, much lower: 12 carries, 40 rushing yards with 3.3 yards per carry.
Obviously, this isn’t on Robinson. I use his stats because his numbers are a microcosm of where the offense is and the up-and-down nature of it. It seems like a formula for teams to follow: Take the Falcons’ run out of the game and you give yourself the best chance to win the game.
Tampa Bay gave teams a blueprint in Week 1. It is Week 9 and the same plan prevails.
“The plan from the onset was to have a pack mentality on the runner, that it wasn’t going to be one player that was going to have 45 tacklers to stop him. It was going to have to be a lot of population around the ball and a lot of strain because a small window or shortcoming in your run fit and they make a living on the explosives and having those big gains,” Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said Sunday. “Trying to keep them one-dimensional was a priority, regardless of the quarterback, just based on the offense they have.”
And that was a Miami defense that was ranked in the bottom quartile of the league in run defense. Right now, the Patriots’ run defense sits in the top five in the league. They’re one of the best run-stoppers. So, their game plan will absolutely be to take away the run, and they have made it so in 2025 that they can do so often. The Falcons need a response if — and in a way, when — that happens. They need to develop an offensive counter-punch.