Nine different receivers combined for the Bears’ 24 receptions on Sunday afternoon. One receiver – Allen Robinson – had almost a third of them on his own.
Robinson’s spent the first quarter of the season establishing himself as the clear cut No. 1 guy for the Bears, evidenced by the fact that he’s been the most-targeted receiver in each of the team’s first four games.
“You know you can go to him at any point in time,” Matt Nagy said after the Bears’ 16-6 win over the Vikings. “He's what you look for in just an unbelievable teammate and player, and somebody you want to coach. I could go on and on and on about him, and he doesn't say anything. He doesn't even care about any of that, but he certainly is a huge part of us winning.”
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The Bears’ offense is still very much a work in progress. Sunday featured another lackluster performance from the running game, and they've now scored 16 points or less in three of their first four games.
And even after a month of games that no one on the offense is satisfied with, Robinson’s on pace to have his best Yards Per Game (67.7) average since his sophomore season in 2015, and his highest Receptions Per Game (5.7) average ever.
When Mitch Trubisky went down with a shoulder injury in the opening minutes of the game, it was Robinson who made a handful of impressive catches to keep the new Chase Daniel-led offense in a rhythm. His 25-yard reception deep in Minnesota’s territory set up the only touchdown of the game.
“He's just so aggressive with the football,” Daniel said. “You can trust him. It's his football or nobody's. So, I have a lot of trust in him, and I have a lot of time on task with him, too.”
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Robinson had a quieter second half (one catch), but that was ultimately by design. Nagy and Daniel came out of halftime looking to put together a more conservative second half, with the coach admitting that by the 4th quarter, with the defense playing the way it was, he was content to run the ball three times and play the field position game.
“We should have got him involved a little later. That's on me,” Daniel added. “But yeah, he's unbelievable. I mean, just the separation he was able to get, we had a really long one down the left sideline that I didn't watch the replay, but I sure would like to have that back. But just seeing it from my view, it was an amazing route.”
Now the Bears start preparing for the trip to London, a routine Robinson is well-accustomed to – this will be the 4th time he’s played across the pond.
“I’ll be honest, it isn’t an easy trip,” he said. “You’ve got to get over there and you’ve got to get acclimated quickly. It’s a long flight and as soon as you land, you start your day.
“My advice for [teammates] is as soon as you get on the plane, go to sleep.”
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