Cam Jordan had nice things to say about the Atlanta Falcons. You aren't misreading that. The New Orleans Saints legend showed respect to Bijan Robinson ahead of Sunday's matchup. Honestly, it's hard not to show respect to Robinson.
All Robinson has done since entering the league is get better each year. With 12 yards, he'll surpass his previous career-high he set just last year. He's only 55 yards away from his first season with 1500 rushing yards. You'd have to go back two months to find the last time he didn't have at least 55 yards in a game.
Robinson has been so good this year that Jordan said, "at this point you might as well declare him the MVP." That's high praise for a running back whose team is eliminated from playoff contention, and Robinson deserves it. He leads the league in total yards. This year, he's shown his proficiency as a receiver as well, passing 800 yards for the first time in his career.
Bijan Robinson cut the Saints up with timely plays earlier this season
Just earlier this week on Monday Night Football, Robinson ran for 195 yards. That's what Jordan meant when he said Robinson is "running like a Heisman trophy candidate." The Falcons get that type of game from their star running back and you can kiss the Saints win streak goodbye.
The total numbers from Robinson's performance against the Saints earlier this season were solid, but far from the display he put on last week. The Saints held Robinson to 70 yards on 14 attempts and two catches for 37 yards. That's 100 total yards, but look at the game before and after to see what it could have looked like. Robinson had over 100 yards on the ground alone in both of those games.
It's not too bad when you compare to some of Robinson's other games, but it doesn't truly tell the impact he had on the game. Robinson had two 32-yard plays, one rushing and the other receiving, and those plays were game changers, especially the second play.
The Saints had Atlanta in a 2nd & 23 after a Kirk Cousins intentional grounding. Robinson responded with a 32-yard catch and run. The following play was an explosive passing touchdown on a shot play that likely doesn't even get called if the Saints keeps the Falcons in third and long. That put the Saints in a 14 point hole that was clearly too much with how the game was flowing.
Robinson may not have scored a touchdown or had a huge day, but the running back did have 64 of Atlanta's most important yards on two plays. While it might not light up the stat sheet, you would struggle to find many players more important to the Falcons' Week 12 win over the Saints than Bijan Robinson.