The Atlanta Falcons picked up their third straight win, upsetting the Los Angeles Rams 27-24. The impressive win on Monday came behind an elite performance from Bijan Robinson. The young running back carried the ball 22 times for 195 yards and a touchdown, while catching five passes for 34 yards and an another score. 19 of those rushing yards came on the final drive, setting the Falcons up for the game-winning field goal.
However, the last three carries of the game went to Tyler Allgeier, who gained two total yards before Atlanta attempted a 51-yard field goal. The decision to give those carries to Allgeier instead of Robinson “pissed off” legendary running back Adrian Peterson, who is an idol of Bijan's.
The future Hall-of-Famer took to Instagram to call out Atlanta for not letting Robinson get the final touches, and possibly end his dominant day with 200 rushing yards. As a running back, Peterson just didn’t understand the thought process from the team.
Adrian Peterson criticizes Falcons for not letting Bijan Robinson finish the game
The rationale for Atlanta was likely a ball security thing. Robinson has four fumbles on the season, which isn’t a lot considering he has 348 touches, but Allgeier has never fumbled in his four-year career, touching the ball over 700 times. With the Falcons already in field goal range, they probably figured they could just hand it off a couple of times, and Allgeier represented the risk-free option.
While that’s somewhat understandable to ice the win, Peterson still has a point. Robinson carried the team to the victory, so it would’ve been nice to see him finish the game, and also possibly get his first 200-yard rushing game of both the season and his three-year career.
Additionally, while Allgeier has never fumbled, it’s not like the Texas product has a fumbling problem. He very easily could’ve been given the ball with the expectation to protect it. That also would’ve been great situational experience for the team’s best player and pivotal building block.
Ultimately, the Falcons got a win, and even Peterson acknowledged that’s what’s important. Bijan Robinson definitely wouldn’t say if he felt a way about not getting the final three carries, but former players will always speak their minds. It’ll be interesting to see if this is a strategy the Falcons stick with in the future.