Falcons

Bijan Robinson is the best player in football.

That’s what Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris said about his star running back Monday night after a 24-14 win over reigning MVP Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.

While Morris may be somewhat biased toward his own player, national TV viewers might have trouble arguing with him after what they witnessed Robinson accomplish on this week’s “Monday Night Football.”

The third-year player tied his career high with 170 rushing yards (the most for a Falcons player during a prime time TV game) in 19 carries. That included a spectacular 81-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that was the longest run of his career as well the longest in the NFL this season. It’s also tied for the second-longest rushing touchdown in Falcons history.

Robinson now has three plays from scrimmage of 50 yards or more this season after having only one longer than 30 yards last year.

“IIt’s just a thing of my game where I want to get better at and continue to get better at every single day,” Robinson said after the game. “And you know, if I can get better at that and breaking those long runs, it’s only helping the team.”

Robinson also caught six passes from quarterback Michael Penix Jr. for 68 yards for a total of 238 yards from scrimmage, the most ever for a Falcons running back.

“There are some people who are just born to be a certain athlete,” Falcons receiver Drake London said after the game. “Like you have certain people who are born to be basketball players, such as LeBron [James]. You have people who are born to be football players, like they have the perfect body shape for it. Now, [Robinson] goes out there, and it’s like art. It’s amazing to see.”

Speaking of James, the Lakers superstar also took notice of Robinson’s performance.

“Bijan so COLD!!!!!!!!!” James posted on X during the game.

A first-round draft pick in 2023 and a Pro Bowl selection last year, Robinson leads the league with 822 yards from scrimmage this season (484 rushing and 338 receiving), and it’s not even all that close.

The Falcons are one of only six teams that have had their bye weeks already, meaning Robinson has compiled his total in five games. The next 11 players on the list — starting with San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey at No. 2 with 780 yards — have all played in six games.

If he keeps this pace, Robinson will finish the season with 2,797 yards from scrimmage, which would break the current record of 2,509 yards set by Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson in 2009. Johnson’s record was set during a 16-game season; Robinson is on pace to have 2,630 yards after his 16th game of the 17-game season.

So maybe Morris wasn’t being all that biased in his post-game comments about Robinson after all.

“He’s the best player in football,” Morris told reporters. “I’ve said it multiple times, I can’t say it enough. You can always have your pick, you can always go out there and figure out who you want to vote for, but in my opinion, he’s the best player in football.”

In Monday night’s other game, a last-gasp 38-yard Jake Moody field goal with three seconds left gave the Chicago Bears a thrilling 25-24 victory at the Washington Commanders.

The San Francisco 49ers took Moody with a rare pick on a kicker in round three of the 2023 draft but they then cut him a poor week one performance this season.

He signed to the Bears practice squad and was activated for Monday’s game after an injury to Cairo Santos.

“It feels amazing,” said Moody. “To get all that support from all my team-mates after the game, it was an amazing feeling.”

Two Moody field goals and a rushing touchdown from quarterback Caleb Williams put Chicago 13-0 up before Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels found Chris Moore to reduce the deficit to six points at Northwest Stadium.

Matt Gay and Moody traded field goals before Daniels threw to Luke McCaffrey and Zach Ertz for touchdowns as Washington opened up a 24-16 lead.

A 55-yard D’Andre Swift receiving touchdown gave the Bears a chance to tie the game but they missed a two-point conversion, leaving the Commanders 24-22 ahead.

But a Daniels fumble gave possession back to the Bears, who drove down the field to set up Moody’s winning kick with three seconds left, leaving the Commaneders with a 3-3 record.

“That’s who we are. We fight,” said Williams, who threw for one touchdown and 252 yards as his team moved to 3-2.

“We’re 3-2 because of our fight, because of how we face adversity and come together.”