Coming off of the mini-bye week from playing last Thursday and with the Washington Commanders' next opponent the Dallas Cowboys playing on Monday night, running back Brian Robinson Jr. was able to watch the first half. But what was he looking for when he watched?
"Last night was a night where I had a chance to study... I had a chance to just see how they play overall as a defense, as a team just all of their traits," Robinson said about being available in Philly during his weekly appearance Tuesday with 106.7 The Fan's The Sports Junkies, which is presented exclusively by our partners at MainStreet Bank — Cheer Local. Bank Local. Put Our Team in Your Office. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.
"I had a great idea of how they play based off of how I saw them play last night," the running back continued. "And I do watch the opposing running backs against the team I'm about to play, obviously, I saw Joe Mixon have a great night."
The Texans back ran for 109 yards on 20 carries (5.5 per attempt) with three touchdowns, including a 45-yard scamper through the Cowboys defense with little resistance.
"I was definitely enjoying it," Robinson said of watching Mixon play. "I've been a fan of Joe Mixon for years, since he came out of college, just to see him constantly pushing for us running backs in year eight and nine and still balling and doing his thing to that level, and having a good night. It just looked good."
Robinson said it is a good year for running backs as the league seems to be "painting a narrative" about the position that "they can't play for ten plus years" when the top backs in the league are all veterans.
After missing back-to-back games with a hamstring injury, Robinson returned to the field last Thursday against Philadelphia and rushed for 63 yards on 16 carries (3.9 per attempt) with a touchdown. But Washington's rushing attack didn't have the normal bounce.
Robinson credited Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter for playing well, but said the issues were "moreso on our end of the bal."
"We could've came out stronger, we were very bland, we didn't really attack them how I would have expected our group to attack. And we just didn't," he told The Junkies. "They played hard, they played physical and critical times in the game they were just more physical than us.
"That's where we gotta step up to the plate and be the team that we aspire to be and dominate those moments. And I feel like once everybody look in the mirror and look at the film and just realize what's at stake in those critical situations, man we gotta be better, just all around. All around."
After the game there was a healthy amount of people taking accountability for plays they would When watching the film, Robinson agreed that some of the issues were obvious to spot.
"I even told coach in the position meeting yesterday, 'It was ugly to watch,'" he said about the game tape. "Because we much, much better than what we put out there in a game that we had an opportunity to show the world that we are who we say we are and the film was just very ugly to watch. It didn't show what we've been working towards. And I feel like this is a perfect opportunity for guys to look in the mirror and get back on track."
And when it comes to facing Dallas on the weekend, Robinson said there isn't anything about the Cowboys that is going to change what the Commanders do on offense, but it will be about "preparing our best to play our best ball, regardless of how they show up."
"We just gotta handle our side of thins," he said.