Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. is a fast healer, and now he has a game-winning touchdown under his belt.
In his second career game and first career start, the rookie scored his first touchdown in the fourth quarter of “Thursday Night Football” against the Chicago Bears, 46 days after he sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the leg.
The touchdown turned out to be a game-winner, with the Commanders winning 12-7.
Robinson was hospitalized on Aug. 28 after an attempted carjacking resulted in him getting shot twice in Washington D.C. He has slowly progressed back, doing drills as early as Sept. 14, officially returning to practice on Oct. 8 and making his debut one day later.
Playing is one thing, though. Scoring is another. Robinson posted 22 rushing yards on nine rushes in his debut against the Tennessee Titans and finally found the end zone in his eighth quarter of football.
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The Commanders selected Robinson 98th overall in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft after a breakout senior season at Alabama, earning first-team All-SEC honors after spending four seasons as a backup. Now, he’s starting in Washington, and the only things left in his way are the defenses.
The game-winner was set up after Chicago returner Velus Jones Jr., another rookie, muffed a punt. The mistake saved the Washington offense on a night when it had almost nothing.
The Commanders would eventually win after a final Bears drive came up short at the goal line. Quarterback Carson Wentz was 12-of-22 for 99 passing yards, but Robinson at least finished with 60 rushing yards on 17 attempts.
Bears’ final drive come up inches short vs. Commanders
In case a winning quarterback posting 99 passing yards didn’t tell you enough, it can be said outright: This was an ugly football game, even by “Thursday Night Football” standards.
Outside of one big play — a 40-yard Justin Fields-to-Dante Pettis touchdown pass — the Bears’ offense had a brutal night, up until a final drive where everything seemed to come together.
Given the ball down 12-7, Fields took a sack and connected on a pair of medium-range passes, then ripped off a 39-yard run to bring Chicago to first-and-goal.
The game eventually came down to fourth-and-goal from the Commanders’ 4-yard line. Fields found his favorite target, Darnell Mooney, and seemed to have the game-winning touchdown, but a timely hit from cornerback Benjamin St-Juste knocked the ball out. Mooney regained control of the ball for a catch, but was inches short of the end zone.
The Commanders took over the ball and ended the game with a quarterback sneak, moving to 2-4. It was a rough game, but least Robinson’s touchdown meant it had one more chapter in a great story.