ATLANTA – With 43 seconds left in Monday night’s 27-24 upset of the Rams, Falcons running back Bijan Robinson was headed toward the sideline. He thought his night was done or, at the very least, that he was getting a break.

Then Atlanta offensive coordinator Zac Robinson saw Los Angeles make a personnel change, and he told the exhausted back that he needed him for one more snap. That play was a 10-yard gain to set up Zane Gonzalez’s game-winning 51-yard field goal.

“I was trying to catch my breath in those split seconds,” Robinson said, “but ZRob, saw something in their defense, said, ‘I need you one more time right here.’ I tried to use the breath I had and get as many yards as I could. When ZRob sees something that he likes … that’s why I love ZRob.”

Big first down pickup by Bijan to get Atlanta in FG range

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“We asked a lot of him tonight, and he just stayed in there and kept smiling,” quarterback Kirk Cousins said.

That’s been the story of the Falcons’ season – needing Robinson. Whether it’s needing him to carry the offense or just needing his superstardom to put a salve on another disappointing season. Against the Rams, he did both.

That final run gave Robinson a career-high 195 yards on the ground and 229 yards from scrimmage. That vaulted him to Atlanta’s franchise record for yards from scrimmage in a single season (2,255) and gave him 5,605 for his career, which is the most by any NFL player before the age of 24.

“He’s a special player,” Cousins said. “What he can do in both the run game and pass game is very unique. He’s a great teammate, and he’s a great person. If you call his number, he’s going to answer. He’s not going to complain or say he’s tired.”

Robinson leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage and is the only player in league history with at least 1,400 rushing yards and 810 receiving yards in a season. If he hits his average production Sunday against the Saints (141 ypg), it would give him 2,395, the second-best scrimmage yards season of the last 25 years. Robinson’s 348 touches are the third-most in the league this year, and he’s accounting for 40.2 percent of Atlanta’s yards this year, the highest percentage in the league.

“Get the ball out of my hands and into his, that’s kind of my mindset,” Cousins said.

BIJAN ROBINSON. 93 YARDS.

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