The Atlanta Falcons are 5-3 and atop the NFC South division after completing a sweep of the three-time defending division champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a 31-26 road win in Week 8. That's Atlanta's best eight-game start to a season since 2016, their NFC championship season in which quarterback Matt Ryan won the NFL's MVP award. Eight years ago, that squad also started 5-3. It's also the last season in which Atlanta won the NFC South.
What's changed? Oh nothing major, just the entire coaching staff -- going from Arthur Smith and Raheem Morris -- and the starting quarterback position -- evolving from now-Las Vegas Raiders backup Desmond Ridder and now-Los Angeles Chargers backup Taylor Heinicke to four-time Pro Bowler Kirk Cousins.
"Just the confidence in what the guys have now man and just vibe around the building," Falcons running back Bijan Robinson told CBS Sports. "Obviously there's been some changes with ... Coach [Raheem] Morris being there, with [offensive coordinator] Zac [Robinson] being there. We had the quarterback change [to Kirk Cousins] and just a lot of new pieces added to the team. It's been very good for us, but I think we're coming in man and just knowing that every game is a championship game. ... I know for me individually just the confidence level has grown a lot from year one to year two. I'm super excited to share that with my teammates."
Going from Smith, who was fired in the offseason and is now the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator, to Zac Robinson calling the plays in Atlanta after five seasons under Sean McVay on the Los Angeles Rams coaching staff has brought forth what Falcons fans have begged for throughout the last three seasons: utilization of their last three top 10 picks from the 2021 to 2023 NFL drafts. Atlanta selected tight end Kyle Pitts fourth overall in 2021 -- making him the highest drafted tight end in the common draft era (since 1967) -- wide receiver Drake London eighth overall in 2022 and Robinson eighth overall in 2023. Falcons fans and fantasy football managers alike were ready to rip their hair out when seeing critical plays and situations result in players like then-backup, veteran tight end Jonnu Smith featured instead of their blue chip talent.
That isn't the case anymore under Zac Robinson. Running back Bijan Robinson is already up six games with at least 100 yards from scrimmage in 2024, which tied for the second-most in the NFL with only Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (six) having more such games thus far this season. Robinson only had five such performances in all of 2023. London has already registered a career-high five receiving touchdowns and counting in 2024 after having just six combined receiving scores in 2022 and 2023. On Sunday, Pitts registered 91 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns on four catches in the win against Tampa Bay, marking his first career game with multiple touchdown receptions. His three receiving touchdowns have already tied a career high, and his 36-yard and 49-yard receiving touchdowns at the Buccaneers in Week 8 make Pitts the first Falcon with multiple receiving touchdowns of 35 yards or longer since retired four-time Pro Bowl receiver Roddy White did so back in 2012. Pitts is also the first tight end in Atlanta to accomplish the feat.
"I think the thing with Zac is he really fills the scheme with the players that he does have," Robinson said. "We have great players on his offense, but what he likes to do is know the players that he has and puts us in the best position possible on the field. ... He's very particular of how he wants them to attack and how he wants to create angles to create the best holes and create the best openings for the pass protection, for run blocking. Then, just letting the guys on the outside like Drake [London], [Darnell] Mooney, Ray-Ray [McCloud], Kyle [Pitts] and Charlie [Woerner] just do work in open space. Letting me and Tyler [Allgeier], and if I'm at receiver or something like that, just making sure that we're the best, possible position to create leverage for ourselves against defenders. We do like to catch the ball, be around the football creating that open space to attack. That man is a genius when he calls plays."
| Atlanta Falcons Offense, NFL Ranks | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
PPG | 18.9 (26th) | 24.3 (12th) |
Total YPG | 334.3 (17th) | 371.6 (7th) |
Drive Score Pct (Rate of drives that end in TD or FG) | 32.1% | 43.2% (9th) |
Pass YPG | 207.3 (22nd) | 250.9 (6th) |
Red Zone TD Pct | 46.8% (29th) | 52% (22nd) |
Sack Rate Allowed | 7% (20th) | 5.2% (7th) |
Passer Rating | 80.5 (27th) | 97.6 (13th) |
| Motion Rate | 56.4% (7th) | 65.3% (5th) |
Offensive Expected Points Added/Play | -0.09 (26th) | 0.06 (7th) |
Do Robinson, London and Pitts ever get together and just pinch themselves about how different their on-field lives are in 2024 versus 2023 in their new OC's scheme?
"It's great," Robinson said with a smile. "Obviously everybody on this offense is producing and doing well individually, but I think that just us even talking and we're very close and obviously everybody on the office is very close. Us three we always joke around and have fun with each other and keep it lighthearted because we know that the NFL is such a results business. We know that just with our faith and with our things that we have going on keeping that lighthearted and love for the game is what's important. ... It's been a fun ride with those guys and being a part of something that I know it can be special for a long time in Atlanta."
A new scheme doesn't mean a thing if a team doesn't have high-level quarterback play, and that's exactly what Atlanta has received from Cousins, who signed with the Falcons on a four-year, $180 million deal. Since the calendar flipped to October, it's been Kirktober in Atlanta as he has played like a top 10 quarterback in terms of completion percentage (71.1%), passing yards (1,242), yards per pass attempt (8.2), passing touchdowns (10), passer rating (109.0) and expected points added per play (0.23).
| Kirk Cousins in October (Since Week 5), NFL Ranks | NFL QB Rank | |
|---|---|---|
Completion Pct | 71.1% | 5th |
Pass Yards | 1,242 | 1st |
Yards/Pass Attempt | 8.2 | 8th |
Pass TD | 10 | 3rd |
Passer Rating | 109.0 | 5th |
Expected Points Added/Play | 0.23 | 4th |
"His experience. He's a veteran quarterback... So he's seen a lot of different looks. He's seen a lot of different schemes from defenses and obviously his confidence is through the roof because he's been doing it at a high level of the right way for a long time now. I think just his leadership is something that that I've learned from. That's [something] he's definitely been helping me every step of the way because he's just such a big leader, " Robinson said grinning. "For not just the team, but for the offense. I'm seeing that, and I'm seeking that. Just picking picking his brain at every chance I get. That's definitely the biggest thing: just his experience and the leadership that he brings with it."
Christian McCaffrey or Derrick Henry?
Entering his second NFL season, Robinson said he wanted to be an all-purpose back like 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey . Through eight games, he is well on his way, ranking fourth in the entire league in yards from scrimmage (784) and fourth in receiving yards (238) among running backs. However, with the Falcons shaping up to be an NFC contender, would he like to be more of a bellcow like 2024 rushing yards leader and Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry as the season heads toward its second half? He prefers his setup right now, but he's willing to put on the Henry-like Superman cape if called upon to do so.
"I think having a [running back] tandem, I think you can last a little longer," Robinson said. "Obviously, I'm going to do whatever it takes for us to win as an offense, whether it's doing the Derrick Henry, tit doesn't matter for me. All I know is that just me and [running back] Tyler [Allgeier], like having that one-two punch is something that is very effective. Not just for you individually, but even for your bodies and for schemes: how teams have to try to defend the offense. Back in the day, it's like you have your No.1 one running back and then the second one is like, 'all right, we can relax, we can breathe a little bit. Then with me and Tyler, it's like you can't relax because you got two different running styles. You got two guys that can attack you in so many different types of ways. You have to be on high alert at all times and then on top of that. Say I get tired on the drive. Then, we can bring Tyler right in, and he'll dominate and then and vice versa. So the tandem is definitely something that is a very effective thing for an offense. You can do it in another way too, but it's whatever like you need for that for that week."
Robinson spoke with CBS Sports in promoting his partnership with ORB Innovations to launch the ORB Sport Smart Mouthguard on Wednesday
"This has been an amazing partnership with ORB," Robinson said. "For me, I think the biggest thing that or one of the biggest things about being with this brand is just the tracking data behind it, but it's more so like with the heart rate, with your impact."
Robinson looks into the sports science data the mouth guard provides at practice plus at halftime and after Falcons games to best manage his body and the way he moves.
"So now you actually have all the data that you do track after a two-hour practice or a two- hour, three hour game, it's all on your phone and you can just look into it," he said. "It just shows you everything from if maybe you've been getting more contact in on the right side or the left side and maybe you want to avoid this part of your body or that part. There's so many more innovative things with this new brand of mouth guard that, that has never been seen before. ... The main thing, like the biggest thing, obviously for me is my improvement and my performance on the field has been definitely improved, wearing this mouthpiece, especially in practice, especially in games. What I'm looking at and what I'm looking for and how I can make moves and how I can try different things on the field with knowing the information that I do know. So it's been amazing."