Sean Payton knew the path to defeating the Falcons and staying in the playoff race meant finding a way to slow down running back Bijan Robinson.
Led by a physical defensive line, the Broncos didn’t just slow him down — they bottled him up.
A week after Robinson ran for 116 yards in a loss to the Saints, the Broncos made Robinson nonexistent for the majority of Sunday’s 38-6 win at Empower Field at Mile High. The former Texas standout finished with just 12 carries for 35 yards — a key component to a dominant defensive outing.
“They’re a hard team to beat if you don’t have an answer for him,” Payton said.
Robinson had submitted five straight games with 100 yards from scrimmage yards leading up to Week 11 — the longest such streak by a Falcon since Julio Jones in 2018, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
He got off to a strong start, recording 32 total yards (18 rushing and 14 receiving) on nine touches in the first quarter. From that point on, his production took a nosedive. He had 31 total offensive yards, including 17 rushing yards on seven attempts, in the final three quarters.
Robinson only had two carries for 5 yards in the second half. Atlanta fed him the ball on the first carry of the third quarter but was stopped for no gain by defensive end John Franklin-Myers and nose tackle D.J. Jones. Early in the fourth quarter, he caught a pass but was taken down by defensive end Zach Allen for a 1-yard loss.
Robinson’s 2.9 yards-per-carry average was his lowest since Week 3 against the Chiefs.
“We had to settle down,” Broncos inside linebacker Justin Strnad told The Denver Post. “(The Falcons) run a wide-zone scheme. There’s a stampede of guys then Bijan can cut off and do whatever. It’s a tough scheme to go against, but we handled it well.”
Payton said there’s a different kind of toughness and grit in this year’s group. The Broncos have displayed that in recent weeks. After Denver got steamrolled by the Ravens in Week 9, allowing 396 total yards, Allen confidently said the team would bounce back, chalking up their 41-10 loss as just one bad day.
He was right. Denver has allowed fewer than 60 rushing yards in the last two weeks. After the Broncos gave up 57 yards on the ground last week in Kansas City, they held the Falcons to 50 yards on 21 carries (2.4 yards per attempt) — the fewest in a game this season.
The Broncos’ run defense was among the highlights of a strong performance against Atlanta, which entered the contest with the fifth-best offense in the league. Denver recorded four sacks, with two coming from outside linebacker Nik Bonitto. Cornerback Pat Surtain II didn’t allow a reception on two targets, while inside linebacker Cody Barton picked off quarterback Kirk Cousins in the third quarter.
The Broncos gave up 226 total yards and held Atlanta scoreless in the second half. Denver has allowed a combined 22 points over the last two games.
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“It started up front,” Franklin-Myers told The Post. “We did a good job of knocking (players) back. Linebackers getting downhill. Corners came in and made tackles when needed.”
Safety P.J. Locke is tired of hearing Denver is close to being playoff contenders.
He believes the Broncos’ time is now, and if they want to play postseason football in January, Locke knows they have to build on performances like Sunday.
“I know we are a top 10 (defense) but we are trying to be No. 1,” he said. “…There’s no ceiling.”
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