### Lawrence Leads Effort to Slow Down Robinson
[Dexter Lawrence II](https://www.bengals.com/team/players-roster/dexter-lawrence/) made it known how he views Atlanta running back Bijan Robinson this week, telling reporters that he is going up against "probably the best back in the league." Robinson leads the NFL this season with 780 rushing yards and averages 5.2 yards per carry (fourth-most). He has been kept relatively in check as of late, however, as he was held to under 80 yards in each of the Falcons' past three games.
The Bengals' defense are giving up 122.3 yards on the ground per contest this year, with 158 allowed last week versus Tennessee. The prior week, Cincinnati kept Baltimore to just 83 rushing yards, including a season-low 45 by Derrick Henry.
Lawrence has eight tackles for loss so far in his Bengals tenure (tied for seventh in NFL), with four being run stuffs against opposing running backs. Him getting into the backfield and potentially getting Robinson on the ground could go a long way toward keeping the Falcons' offense behind schedule.
While Robinson's ability to take over the game will be an obvious focus for the Bengals, head coach [Zac Taylor](https://www.bengals.com/team/coaches-roster/zac-taylor) also pointed out how the Falcons are able to utilize him to create an unpredictable offensive attack.
"Obviously, their running back is as dangerous as it gets in this league," said Taylor. "They're able to focus a lot of things around that, which is stuff Kevin (Stefanski) has always done a great job of, along with (offensive line coach) Bill Callahan and all the guys they've got with the run game, the play-action, the naked (bootlegs) and screens."