Bijan Robinson named NFC Offensive Player of the Week: 213 yards at Lambeau make the award official

The man who got the bag in August just started paying it back in October. Bijan Robinson was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday, the league formally noticing the 213-yard blast he put on the Packers in Atlanta's first win of the season.

Robinson's 213 total yards from scrimmage on Thursday night — 194 of them on the ground — powered the Falcons to a 35-14 rout of the Packers, snapped Green Bay's 13-game home-opening winning streak, and made it the third time in his career he's topped 200 total yards from scrimmage in a game. Through three weeks he leads the entire NFL with 467 scrimmage yards, a strong start for the man who led the league in that exact category a year ago.

The 194 that went with it

The ground number is the headline on its own. Robinson's 194 rushing yards on Thursday fell just one yard short of matching the career-high he set against the Rams in Week 17 of last season. He did it on a short week, in prime time, against a Packers front that came in thinking it could win the line of scrimmage.

It was also the seventh time in his career he's topped 100 total yards in a prime-time game, a new franchise record. Only three players in the NFL have done it more since the 2023 season. On top of that, he became just the 10th player in league history to break 6,000 career scrimmage yards before turning 25 — he's 24, so he's nowhere near done stacking milestones.

The new-look run game

This isn't pure Bijan talent carrying a broken offense. The Falcons went back to work on the run game this offseason — new coordinator Tommy Rees, a refashioned run design, and legendary line coach Bill Callahan brought in to coach up the front. Against Green Bay it all clicked at once, and Robinson was the beneficiary.

That's the version of this team the front office bet on when it made him the highest-paid running back in football. One 200-yard game doesn't answer every question about a lagging offense, but it's the loudest possible confirmation that the plan works when the line blocks and the coordinator has a rhythm.

The locker room backs it up

The quotes from Green Bay were loud. Safety Jessie Bates III called Robinson "the highest-paid running back in the league for a reason," adding it's "always fun to sit on the bench and watch No. 7 go to work." Drake London — who put up 190-plus receiving yards in the same game — went one further: "He's going to be a gold jacket wearer."

Bijan's 194 rushing yards plus London's 191 receiving yards marked the first time this franchise had a player go over 150 in both categories in the same game. That's a hell of a Thursday for a 1-2 team.

The real point: Monday night in New Orleans

The award is recognition; the reason it matters is Monday night in the Superdome, where the Falcons try to make it two straight with a full week of Penix prep behind them. Bijan's load is the one thing this offense can't afford to lose, so expect the Falcons to keep feeding him while the Saints — who just watched Atlanta hang 213 yards on a good Packers defense — try to figure out how to slow him down.

Get the ground game going again and Atlanta has a real shot at climbing back to .500 before the stretch of home games that follows. That's the whole goal now.

Bird Gang bottom line

The Payday Bijan is here, and the NFL just stamped it official. The Falcons don't win in Green Bay — and maybe don't win another game all season — without No. 7 going supernova. If you're leaning on Bijan every week, don't just watch him Sunday; make it count. Start a free pick'em league at Pick'em Baby and put him to work where he actually pays you.

Play Pick'em Baby