London, Bijan, and Defeat the Bears and make history for the Falcons.
The offense of the Atlanta Falcons continued to struggle with consistency, and as a result, they were defeated by the Chicago Bears by a score of 37-17 on Sunday inside Soldier Field.
The Falcons’ two most promising young players, running back Bijan Robinson and receiver Drake London, both had excellent games and played their way into the annals of team history. However, the Falcons’ most promising young players did not show up.
Robinson finished with 86 yards from scrimmage, with 15 carries for 75 yards and three receptions for 11 yards. He also added three catches for 11 yards.
As of right now, Robinson has a total of 1,332 yards this season, which is tied with William Andrews for the most scrimmage yards by a rookie in Falcons history. Robinson was selected eighth overall in the draft that took place in April.
The young man, who is only 21 years old, still has the opportunity to shatter yet another record.
Robinson currently has 948 rushing yards for the season, which puts him 88 yards away from surpassing Tyler Allgeier’s franchise record of 1,035 rushing yards by a rookie, which was established the previous year.
There have been four occasions this season in which the native of Tuscon, Arizona has ran for 88 yards or more. The most recent of these instances occurred in Atlanta’s most recent game against New Orleans, which the Falcons won 24-15 on November 26.
Therefore, Robinson is in a position to continue making history, just like London did on Sunday. This is a legitimate opportunity.
Now that London has 137 career receptions, he has broken Julio Jones’ team mark of 133 for most catches by a player in his first two seasons. London’s four receptions for 56 yards bring his total to 137 during his career.
However, London currently holds the position of No. 2 on the franchise’s all-time list of receiving yards through a player’s first two seasons, surpassing both Calvin Ridley (1,687) and Bert Emanuel (1,688). London’s total of 1,730 receiving yards places him in the position. The record for most yards is held by Jones, who has 2,157.
During the course of the season, London has a total of 65 receptions, 864 yards, and two touchdowns. There are 136 yards that stand between him and becoming the 15th player in the history of the franchise to earn 1,000 receiving yards in a single season.
Only three yards are required for London to surpass his 866 receiving yards as a rookie, but he needs eight receptions to surpass his previous rookie record of 72 receptions from the previous season.
Like Robinson, London, who is 22 years old, was selected eighth overall in the draft, and he has performed at a level that is commensurate with such a selection during the first two years of his career.
A difficult season has been experienced by the Falcons, who are currently sitting at 7-9 heading into the season finale versus the Saints on Sunday. Despite this, the Falcons still have a chance to either win the NFC South for the first time in seven years or to hold the No. 8 overall pick for the third year in a row.
Robinson and London should be at the forefront of the action regardless of what happens when Atlanta and New Orleans (8-8) begin off inside Caesars Superdome at one o’clock in the afternoon Eastern Standard Time. At the same time, they should be getting closer and closer to making even more history.
Robinson rushed seven times for 11 yards and brought in one target for three yards in the Falcons‘ 9-7 loss to the Panthers on Sunday. He also lost a fumble.
Robinson’s day was as dreary as his final line implies, with the rookie producing his lowest yardage output on the ground since Week 7 against the Buccaneers (three yards). Robinson’s sparse usage was especially disappointing in that it came on the heels of six straight double-digit rush-attempt tallies and three consecutive games with multiple receptions. Robinson’s fumble was also critical, as it occurred on Atlanta’s own 21-yard line late in the third quarter and led to a Panthers field goal. While backfield mate Tyler Allgeier doubled up Robinson in carries Sunday, it would seem likely the first-round pick reclaims a larger share of the work on the ground in a Week 16 home matchup against the Colts on Christmas Eve.