GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Bijan Robinson had about 200 family and friends in the stands to witness his return to the desert.
They got a chance to see the former Tucson high school star reach a milestone.
Robinson became the third player in Falcons history to eclipse 2,000 scrimmage yards in a season, finishing with 168 yards and a touchdown reception in Atlanta's 26-19 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
The do-everything running back rushed for 76 yards and caught seven passes for 92 yards. He has 2,026 total yards, joining Jamal Anderson (1998) and William Andrews (1981 and 1983) in the Falcons' 2,000-yard club. His 5,376 yards in three seasons is third-most in NFL history for a player aged 23 or younger.
“I meant a lot to me to do that in Arizona, in front of the people who supported me as a kid,” Robinson said. “It was a huge moment, not only for me but everyone who was watching.”
They've been watching since Robinson starred at Tucson's Salpointe Catholic High School. He went on to have a stellar college career at Texas and has continued to churn out yards since the Falcons selected him with the eighth overall pick of the 2023 draft.
This season has been his best yet.
A year after rushing for 1,456 yards, Robinson is within reach of a career high this season, at 1,250 yards with two games left. He's also become even more of a threat catching passes out of the backfield, pulling down 71 catches for 776 yards and three touchdowns after finishing with 64 catches for 684 yards a year ago.
Robinson is behind Christian McCaffrey (5,443) and Barry Sanders (5,391) for most scrimmage yards in NFL history before turning 24 — and he has two more weeks to add to those totals.
“I've got got a lot of love for that guy, what he brings to football team, not just as a player but a human,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said.
Robinson entered the game leading the NFL with an average of 132.7 scrimmage yards and again showed off his versatility against the Cardinals.
The 5-foot-10, 215-pounder caught a 41-yard pass in the second quarter, broke off an 11-yard run and capped the Bijan-only three-play drive by turning a swing pass into a 13-yard touchdown that pulled the Falcons within 13-10.
Robinson added a 29-yard run in a drive spanning the third and fourth quarters that led to a TD.
“Sometimes you think you’re going to have him bottled up and he makes productive plays,” Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said.
Next up is the Falcons' single-season record.
Andrews had 2,176 scrimmage yards in 1983, leaving Robinson 150 shy of the mark. The Falcons close out the season with home games against the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans, giving him a chance to notch another place in history in front of his new home fans.
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Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) scores a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
HOUSTON (AP) — Houston’s struggles Sunday in a victory over the Las Vegas Raiders left some on the Texans top-ranked defense feeling a bit disappointed.
“It’s hard to win this league,” defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said. “ With saying that, though, we have a standard in this building to where we want to play at and when we don’t feel like we play to that standard, everybody feels it. Sometimes it feels like, man we didn’t even win the game.”
C.J. Stroud threw a touchdown pass, Derek Stingley returned an interception for a score and the Texans beat Las Vegas 23-21 for their seventh straight victory and the Raiders’ ninth loss in a row.
While Anderson left the field feeling less than satisfied, coach DeMeco Ryans lauded his team for pulling out the win on a day it didn’t play its best.
“It doesn’t matter how it looks, it’s beautiful to get the win,” Ryans said. “I’m proud of our team for continuing to find ways to win.”
Houston (10-5) has its longest winning streak since a nine-game run in 2018. The Texans remain a game behind first-place Jacksonville — a winner in Denver on Sunday — in the AFC South. The Raiders are 2-13.
Stingley’s touchdown came in the first quarter, and Ka’imi Fairbairn made three field goals to help the Texans to the win on a day when their offense struggled.
Houston led by two with about eight minutes left when Stroud found a wide-open Dalton Schultz for a 1-yard touchdown strike that made it 23-14.
“We found a way to win,” Schultz said. “And in December, that’s all that we can ask for.”
Nick Chubb had a 30-yard run on that drive and a 23-yard pass interference call on Lonnie Johnson Jr. against Collins got Houston to the 2 to set up the score.
Raiders rookie Ashton Jeanty cut the lead to 23-21 when he scored on a 51-yard run with about 5 1/2 minutes left. He burst through the line before shedding a defender and waltzing into the end zone.
Houston faced third-and-20 at its 7 after that when Darien Porter was flagged for pass interference on Nico Collins to give the Texans a first down. Collins grabbed a 24-yard reception on the first play after the two-minute warning and Houston ran out the clock for the win.
Jeanty, the sixth overall pick in the draft, had 24 carries for 128 yards with a touchdown run and added a 60-yard touchdown reception to keep the Raiders in it.
“It was a beautiful day to watch Ashton,” coach Pete Carroll said. “His talent is so obvious to me and anyone who has watched him.”
Stroud threw for 187 yards and a touchdown and Collins had four receptions for 59 yards.
Las Vegas finished with 315 yards to break a streak of six straight games with less than 17 points and fewer than 275 yards, which was the longest such streak since Cleveland in 2008.
“This game was about how hard we would play and demonstrate how much we love the game,” Carroll said. “I thought that’s what we showed.”
Geno Smith threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns with the interception in his return after sitting out last week with back and shoulder injuries.
Jeanty put the Raiders on top when he grabbed a pass at about the 35 and dashed into the end zone, slipping out of a tackle on the way, for the 60-yard score with about 9 1/2 minutes let in the third. The score was the longest touchdown reception by a Raiders running back since Jamize Olawale had a 75-yard TD catch against Houston in 2016.
He joined Alvin Kamara (2017) and Christian McCaffrey (2017) as the only rookie running backs since 1970 to have five receiving touchdowns. His 188 yards from scrummage are the second most by a rookie in franchise history behind the 235 yards Bo Jackson gained against Seattle in 1987.
The Texans punted on their first two possessions of the second half before Fairbairn’s 49-yard field goal made it 16-14 with three minutes left in the third.
Stingley’s 31-yard interception return for a touchdown put the Texans up 7-0 early. It was the first touchdown for the All-Pro since high school and he kept the ball to give to his father. The Raiders tied it on a 7-yard reception by Brock Bowers early in the second quarter.
Houston went on top 10-7 on a 55-yard field goal with about nine minutes left in the first half.
A 50-yard field goal by Fairbairn left the Texans up 13-7 at halftime.
Texans LB Jake Hansen injured his chest in the first quarter and did not return. … T Aireontae Ersery injured his hand in the fourth quarter.
Raiders: Host the New York Giants next Sunday.
Texans: At the Los Aneles Chargers on Saturday.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty, middle, runs past Houston Texans cornerback Myles Bryant, right, to score during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty (2) runs for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., left, returns an interception thrown by Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)
Houston Texans running back Nick Chubb, middle, runs against Las Vegas Raiders safety Jeremy Chinn (11) and safety Lonnie Johnson Jr. during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) runs against Houston Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
