Bijan Robinson's Week 1 usage could be a recipe for disaster

The Atlanta Falconsgave themselves several opportunitiesto go home with a win in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but they simply couldn't capitalize on offense. With Cooper Rushhaving to step in forTua Tagovailoa this week, it was up to him to make the plays to help the Falcons get a win, but the moment may have been too big for him.

Things looked good for the Falcons in the first half, and that's due to the dominance of Bijan Robinson. Whether he was coming out of the backfield or catching passes while making defenders miss, there wasn't much that the Steelers could do with him.

In the end, Robinson finished with 21 carries for 83 yards, while also leading the team with eight receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown. He technically did everything for the Falcons on offense, and they only lost by a touchdown. That may sound good in hindsight, but when looking at the full picture, his usage was ridiculous.

Falcons game plan evolved around Bijan Robinson

Many people assumed that this would be a game where Rush would probably dump the ball to Robinson, but the other receivers on the team didn't get many targets. It took Rush almost an entire quarter to pass the ball to Drake London, and he finished with the second-most receptions on the team with just two. After a solid preseason, Kyle Pitts ended with no receptions and just one target.

Robinson bailed the Falcons out a lot in Week 1, and the hope is that's not the game plan for the rest of the season; it was only because of the quarterback situation. If that is indeed the plan for the remainder of the season, Robinson could easily burn out midway through the season, or even suffer an injury.

He almost found himself in that situation when Chris Lindstrom dived at Robinson after Rush threw the pick-six to TJ Watt.

Falcons have to be smart with Bijan Robinson

Everybody knows how dynamic Robinson is, and it's hard not to give him the ball after seeing what he does when it's in his hands. At the same time, you have to be smart about managing the players throughout the game. It was a big reason why there were questions surrounding the Falcons only keeping two running backs on the roster after seeing what the others were able to do in the preseason.

The Falcons also have capable receivers on the team who are trustworthy, and the Steelers weren't doing anything special on defense to limit them. It's going to come down to the quarterback in those situations to make the best play and trust that his playmakers are going to catch the ball.

As for the playcalling, the Falcons will need to find some balance with Robinson to start the season, or things could get out of hand early.

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