Take 5: Five quick takeaways from the Falcons’ victory over the Cardinals

More Bijan, more good things

Bijan Robinson’s production is no secret this season, and he leads the league in scrimmage yards. He surpassed 2,000 scrimmage yards this season on Sunday, a significant milestone, becoming just the third Falcons players to complete the feat.

Robinson was a threat both running out of the backfield and also split out as a receiver or catching passes from his backfield position.

The Falcons have put him in good positions around the field, and he had a 41-yard pass play that started an efficient three-play scoring drive for their first touchdown of the game.

He followed with an 11-yard run and a 13-yard screen catch for a touchdown, showing his versatility in different parts of the field. That score pulled the Falcons within 13-10 in the second quarter.

Robinson finished with 168 scrimmage yards, including 92 yards receiving.

Cousins-Pitts connection

In the early part of the season, Michael Penix Jr. wasn’t able to establish a consistent connection with tight end Kyle Pitts. He relied more on Bijan Robinson and Drake London, which led to a modicum of success.

With Kirk Cousins taking the reins after Penix’s injury — and London’s injury depleting the receiving options — Cousins has built a lifeline with Pitts. That includes last week’s breakout game for Pitts, which included three touchdowns.

Some of that chemistry continued this week, with Cousins finding Pitts for a touchdown pass late in the second quarter, tying the game at 16 when the Falcons trailed by 6.

Cousins turns it around

Cousins struggled for most of the game. He wasn’t as sharp as last week, but he was able to get things moving in the second and third quarters when he needed to, finding Robinson in space and working well with Pitts.

The receiving corps still needs to be plugged in for the offense to click, but with injuries and London still finding his rhythm, that’s a bit understandable. But Cousins was off target on several passes, including one to offensive lineman Jake Matthews in the end zone, which would have been a highlight play.

Cousins finished 21-of-35 for 197 yards and two touchdowns and had a rushing touchdown that gave the Falcons a 10-point lead.

Fourth down gone wrong

In the fourth quarter, the Falcons had fourth-and-short as they were looking to salt the game away with another score and running more time off the clock.

Simple, right?

Not so much.

Tight end Charlie Woerner collided with Cousins, who was looking to hand off to Tyler Allgeier, and in the commotion, Cousins fumbled and the Cardinals recovered at the 47.

It’s symbolic of the Falcons’ struggles this season, but having called a timeout before the play, maybe there was a better option. Maybe not.

Still, the result was bad. Call another QB sneak for Cousins (as they did on his touchdown run) or just give it to Allgeier (or even Robinson).

Near the two-minute mark, the Falcons had another miscue on fourth-and-1, as Allgeier was stopped short and the Cardinals got the ball with good field position.

Special-teams woes

The Falcons have had most of the issues on special teams this season, but the Cardinals had their share on Sunday.

Chad Ryland missed a pair of field goals (though he made four), which kept the Cardinals from extending their lead.

The Falcons also had an extra point blocked by Calais Campbell, who notched his 11th career blocked kick.