Bijan Robinson says listening to Kevin Stefankski’s speech felt ‘like Martin Luther King was in there’

The Atlanta Falcons kicked off three straight weeks of primetime games Thursday night with a clash against the Green Bay Packers. Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo was one of many who lamented the NFL schedule makers’ decision to subject national audiences to the Falcons, a team that hadn’t put together a single drive that entered the opposing team’s red zone entering Thursday night.

“Who in the world thought it would be a good idea to schedule the Atlanta Falcons three straight times on national television?” Russo asked on ESPN’s First Take earlier this week.

Fortunately for Atlanta, after two weeks of the Cooper Rush experience, second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and his backup, veteran Tua Tagovailoa, were finally available after both dealt with injuries in the first two weeks of the season. Penix delivered in his first start of the year, going 18-for-25 passing for 256 yards and a touchdown in a 35-14 win.

However, it wasn’t just Penix’s return that seems to have brought out the best in his teammates. If you let star running back Bijan Robinson tell it, last week’s 34-3 loss to the Carolina Panthers may have awakened something reverent within first-year Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski.

After Thursday’s win, Robinson joined the Prime Video Thursday Night Football studio crew and had quite the analogy for Stefanski’s speech following the loss.

“I think last week was a bigger testament to who he is just as a person, but as a coach,” Robinson said on set. “You know, obviously we lost how we did last week, and he went right to the locker room, and I don’t know if he drank some coffee or something, but he said this speech. It was like Martin Luther King was in there, man.”

“Wait a minute,” Prime Video studio analyst Richard Sherman interjected.

#Falcons RB Bijan Robinson on HC Kevin Stefanski’s speech to the team last week:

“It was like Martin Luther King was in there, man. I was like, ‘Yoooo.’”

Richard Sherman: “Wait a minute.” 😂

(📽️ @NFLonPrime) https://t.co/WlHkX2Yt1j pic.twitter.com/Ha6IGC0aOb

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 25, 2026

“He just brought everybody, all the players together,” an undeterred Robinson continued, “and he was saying like, ‘Are we gonna let this loss define us? Is this who we’re gonna be as a team, or are we gonna just change it right now and, you know, try to flip the switch.'”

As inspiring as Stefanski’s speech might have been, it certainly was no I Have a Dream. Robinson was probably just a little charged up after the win and would like that one back. Still, if Stefanski’s speech results in three straight weeks of entertaining Falcons football on national television, NFL fans will be plenty grateful.