On Sunday evening, the Atlanta Falcons picked up their first win of the young 2025 NFL season with a comfortable road victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football. The game wasn't exactly an offensive masterclass for Atlanta, but the defense put on a clinic, holding the Vikings' offense to just six points on the night.
The main reason why Atlanta was even able to get to their final total of 22 points was the play of running back Bijan Robinson, who bounced back from a rough rushing game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1 to carry 22 times for 143 yards in the win over Minnesota.
Robinson has quickly established himself as a consensus top three running back in the NFL alongside Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry, and recently, Falcons head coach Raheem Morris heaped the ultimate praise on his star.
“He's definitely the best player in football in my mind,” said Morris of Robinson, per Terrin Waack of the Falcons on X, formerly Twitter.
A big win for the Falcons
In Week 1, the Atlanta Falcons let a golden opportunity to knock off their divisional rival Buccaneers slip through their fingers with some late game defensive miscues and a missed extra point from Younghoe Koo.
On Sunday evening in Minnesota, Koo's replacement, Atlanta native Parker Romo, went 5-5 on his field goal attempts, including nailing one 55-yarder that gave the Falcons a two-possession lead in the fourth quarter.
Overall, it was a solid display from a Falcons team that invested heavily in their defensive line this offseason and saw a return on that investment with the win over the Vikings. Rookies James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker both had sacks of JJ McCarthy on the evening, two of the six sacks that the Falcons managed to get in the victory.
Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has also looked solid and in command through two weeks, but fans have been clamoring for offensive coordinator Zac Robinson to expand the playbook a bit in order to generate more explosive plays.
The Falcons will next take the field on Sunday afternoon on the road vs the Carolina Panthers.
