Bijan Robinson being a tough task for the New Orleans Saints defense isn't breaking news. More specifically, however, Robinson's ability to excel after contact is the biggest challenge the Saints face when taking on Robinson.
Robinson represents end of the running back gauntlet the Saints had to face to start the year, featuring Jahmyr Gibbs, Derrick Henry and Ashton Jeanty. Arguments can be made on whether Robinson or Gibbs is the best back of the bunch, but New Orleans is going to have to do a much better job against Robinson than they did bottling up Gibbs.
Gibbs racked up 156 yards on the ground in Week 1. Robinson is coming off a performance where he ran for nearly 200 yards on Thursday Night Football. If the Saints don't improve their tackling, another Gibbs-like performance could be in the cards, and that'll likely result in defeat.
Saints' tackling woes should be every fan's biggest fear vs Falcons
Robinson has a knack for finding yards where yards aren't. Sometimes it's patience and vision, but sometimes it's about squeezing through the hole. The Saints have to first make it difficult, then make the tackle once they force Robinson to squeeze through.
The Falcons running back is averaging 4.9 yards after contact. That's bad news for the Saints defense because they've struggled to bring runners down on first contact. Per NextGen Stats, the Saints have successfully tackled runners at the 12th lowest percentage this season.
First contact aside, the Saints have the seventh highest missed tackle rate on called run plays. Combine those struggles with a running back who excels at making defenders miss and you have a recipe for disaster for New Orleans.
If the Saints are able to fix the missed tackle woes then things are looking up for run defense. The Falcons have done a poor job keeping defenders out of the backfield. Robinson has been hit at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield on nearly half of his carries, 47 percent to be exact.
Robinson has neutralized this flaw by constantly forcing missed tackles, but it's still a flaw the Saints can take advantage of. Beating the Falcons is going to be heavily predicated upon whether or not the Saints able to win at the trenches.
This is going to be a big game for the players up front. If they can get into the backfield and even slow Robinson as other players rally it would be big. He's elusive and is going to make some of the bigger linemen miss due to his size and quickness. The key is not being just one player.
First attempt percentage may not be the best metric to gauge this game by, but if New Orleans can improve their tackling percentage across the board, they stand a much better chance at stopping Robinson.
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