Patrick Graham Bijan Robinson September 8
Patrick Graham Bijan Robinson September 8
For defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, he’s asking anyone and everyone for advice on how to slow down Atlanta Falcons star running back Bijan Robinson. The lynchpin of their offense, Robinson is one of the NFL’s best running backs and got paid like it in the summer. It’s Graham’s mission to slow his roll Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.
“As we’re getting prepared for Atlanta right now,” Graham said Monday via the team’s YouTube channel, “the guys on the roster, they’ve played against some of the players there…when you guys played against Bijan before, what was the tackling plan there? What’d you guys talk about?”
Pittsburgh faced Robinson to begin the 2024 season. The Steelers largely held him in check to just 68 yards, fewer than four yards per carry, and zero touchdowns. Robinson would later praise it as a great test for the rest of the season.
With back-to-back 1,400-yard seasons, Robinson has only gotten better since then. Since the 1970 merger, only nine other backs have done so at least twice across their first three seasons. That list is populated by legendary names like Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Earl Campbell, the latter the only one to do so in each of his first three years.
Graham’s past experience against Robinson didn’t go as smoothly. In Week 15 of the 2024 season, Robinson dominated with 125 yards on just 22 carries. The Falcons still managed just 15 points, but it was enough to take down Graham’s Raiders.
“I learned from early in my career, I’m into gathering information,” Graham said. “So for me, especially Week One, I’m trying to find out for the guys who’ve played against these guys, ‘Hey, give me some information. What did you guys take from playing Atlanta before?’ Have [CB Jamel Dean], who was in the same division with him for a while.”
Notable Steelers defenders who played against Robinson in that 2024 game or from NFC South battles include defensive linemen Cam Heyward and Keeanu Benton, Edge rushers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, inside linebackers Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson, and cornerbacks Joey Porter Jr. and Jamel Dean. Safety Jaquan Brisker also faced Robinson during Robinson’s rookie year.
One hidden name who might help provide intel is Steelers’ offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio. In 2019, Angelichio worked for the Washington Redskins alongside Bill Callahan, who is now the Falcons’ offensive line coach. Angelichio knows how Callahan coaches up a running game. Even if that was seven years ago, every detail can help in the present.
Graham clearly isn’t so prideful that he feels he can develop a plan alone. That’s smart. He’s using every resource at his disposal to take away the Falcons’ top threat in the first test of his Steelers tenure.