The Saints' winning streak faces its ultimate test against a historic Falcons running back. Can New Orleans contain Bijan Robinson's unprecedented season?
The New Orleans Saints (6-10) are rolling after winning four consecutive games in a row entering Week 18. One player could pose a threat to that streak in the season finale.
New Orleans fans are familiar with the player. His name is Bijan Robinson, the most dangerous running back in the league and maybe of his generation.
Robinson has had a historic season for the Falcons, but no game featured his greatness more so than a dominant performance against the Super Bowl contending Los Angeles Rams last week.
Josh Kendall of "The Athletic" discussed Robinson's unprecedented season and big game against the Rams. He wrote the following of Robinson.
"Robinson leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage and is the only player in league history with at least 1,400 rushing yards and 810 receiving yards in a season. If he hits his average production Sunday against the Saints (141 ypg), it would give him 2,395, the second-best scrimmage yards season of the last 25 years. Robinson’s 348 touches are the third-most in the league this year, and he’s accounting for 40.2 percent of Atlanta’s yards this year, the highest percentage in the league.
Robinson has rushed for 365 yards in two “Monday Night Football” games this season and is the first player in league history to top 200 yards from scrimmage twice on a Monday night in the same year. He is averaging 4.05 yards per carry after contact, according to TruMedia, which is the fifth-best mark in the last 10 years among players with more than 200 carries."
The Falcons won their last game against the Saints in Week 12. It was a rare occasion where Saints signal caller Tyler Shough was not on the winning end on one of his eight starts at quarterback.
Despite the loss New Orleans did a great job of limiting Robinson, holding him to 70 rushing yards on 14 carries and 37 receiving yards on two catches. Even so, limiting Robinson twice in a season is easier said than done. The Saints defense will have to do it again.
New Orleans is on an undeniable run regardless of quality of opponent. It's hard to win four straight games in the NFL. Yet while that run of success commands respect, Sunday poses perhaps the Saints' biggest challenge of the last five games.
The Saints have an opportunity to further validate their winning streak against the Falcons. They will look to stop Robinson this weekend.