In what was meant to be one of the best head-to-head matchups of the season between elite running backs Kenneth Walker III of the Kansas City Chiefs and Bijan Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons, the Chiefs are now forced to search for other avenues of offensive advantages after Walker was ruled out for Week 10.
Both Walker and Robinson have been the engines of their respective offenses, accounting for well over 1,000 yards and 17 total touchdowns. Now the Chiefs must turn to rookie back Emmett Johnson and find a way to halt Robinson from having a huge performance.
Walker has truly meant the world to Kansas City through eight games and to Patrick Mahomes. A strong running game and an elite playmaker have taken a huge burden off Mahomes to create everything.
Johnson has been incredibly electric and explosive in his limited 40 touches this season. Now he'll have to manage potentially over half that in one game. As for Steve Spagnuolo and the Chiefs defense, shutting down Robinson is a near-impossible task, but stunting him from breaking out is a more realistic approach.
Kansas City must be creative in how they plan to even a clear backfield mismatch without Walker
The challenge is clear for Spags and the defensive unit. Bottle up Robinson as much as you can, and force the struggling quarterback Michael Penix Jr. into must-pass scenarios.
If the Chiefs are going to continue to pile up wins and take care of business, it must start with the defensive line limiting Robinson and forcing Michael Penix Jr. to beat them using the air attack, a situation that may seem unlikely, but not impossible.
The Chiefs rank 9th in overall rush yards allowed per game at just over 93 yards. This should help them to an extent on the ground. But where Robinson can really hurt defenders is out in space via the passing game. He is a threat wherever he is on the field.
With that said, the Chiefs cannot afford to overlook a team that has gotten two impressive wins this season, beating the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers. These were wins that spoke to the fact that when Robinson is clicking, the Falcons are capable of beating anyone on any given Sunday.
As much as the game appears to favor the Chiefs overall, as they are three-point favorites on the road, they cannot afford to sleepwalk through this game. Atlanta has talent on both sides of the ball that will take advantage of lackluster effort. Bijan Robinson is at the front of that line.
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