If you can't beat them, join them, I guess?
There were many things that former Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson struggled with, but last on the list was going against Todd Bowles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And now he is coaching for them...
During his introductory press conference, the new Bucs OC talked about facing his new team twice a year, per River Wells.
Zac Robinson thanks a lot of people for this opportunity, and he also thanks head coach Todd Bowles:
— River Wells (@riverhwells) January 27, 2026
“Glad I don’t have to gameplan against him anymore — I got no sleep those weeks.” pic.twitter.com/4eI6RcWC0B
Huh? Are we talking about the same same Buccaneers team he beat up on in each matchup?
Zac Robinson completely avoids the truth his first media appearance with Buccaneers
Robinson and the Falcons went 3-1 (.750) against the Buccaneers over the past two years -- they were 13-17 (.433) against everyone else.
Much of the reason for that was their offense, which performed to an abnormally high level against Todd Bowles' defense. That is why Robinson's comments are so ironic.
In four games against Tampa Bay, Robinson's offense averaged 29 points and 444.5 yards. In the 30 other games, they averaged 20.87 points and 339 yards.
In other words, they averaged more than eight points and 105 yards more per game against Bowles' defense.
Included in those games was Kirk Cousins' franchise-breaking single-game passing yardage record of 509 yards and two of Robinson's six games with 30-plus points.
And speaking of the passing game, for a team that has focused on its strong running game, it found tremendous success through the air against its division rival.
2024 vs. TB:
- Wk. 5 - Cousins: 42/58, 509 pass yds, 4 TDs, 1 INT
- Wk. 8 - Cousins: 23/29, 276 pass yds, 4 TDs, 0 INT
2025 vs. TB:
Wk. 1 - Penix Jr.: 27/42, 298 pass yds, 1 TD, 0 INT
Wk. 15 - Cousins: 30/44, 373 pass yds, 3 TDs, 0 INT
Add those up, and Falcons QBs went 122-for-173 (71%) for 1,456 passing yards, 12 passing touchdowns, and one interception.
So, if there was any game keeping Robinson up at night, I don't think it was against Bowles' defense.
If anything was keeping him up, it was scheming a successful run game; they averaged 95.5 rush yards per game in those four games.
But what does that matter when your quarterback is slinging the ball all over the field with no fear of turning the ball over?
This is Robinson doing what we see so often in the NFL: praising your current situation. However, I don't think he needed to go that far in praising his new head coach's defense.