Kyle Pitts has now scored 14 touchdowns since being selected as the fourth overall pick in the 2021 selection process.
National Football League 2025 Season: The fifteenth week
Kyle Pitts scored three touchdowns as the Atlanta Falcons mounted a late rally to snatch a nail-biting 29-28 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Kicker Zane Gonzalez converted a clutch kick as time ran out, while Pitts became only the eighth tight end in league history to achieve three receiving catches and over 150 receiving yards in a same game.
After beginning the year as one of the NFL's initial leaders, the Buccaneers have now fallen from the top of the AFC South for the initial time in 2025, with just three games left in the regular campaign.
They currently possess a 7-7 mark after suffering five of their previous six games. This features back-to-back home-field losses in the space of five days to two division opponents who are out of play-off the race.
Game Recap
The Buccaneers started the scoring with a Sean Tucker score before the Falcons held a 14-13 lead at half-time. This came after Pitts, who came into Thursday's matchup with just one score all year, hauled in his first two scores.
The Buccaneers subsequently raced into a 28-14 lead early in the final period after QB Baker Mayfield threw scoring throws to Devin Culp and Chris Godwin Jr.
Veteran signal-caller Kirk Cousins was making his fourth consecutive start after a season-ending injury to Atlanta's starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. The 37-year-old proceeded to guide the Falcons to the thirty-second final period comeback of his illustrious NFL tenure.
Running back Bijan Robinson found the end zone before Pitts secured his three-touchdown game. Atlanta then regained the ball with less than two minutes left on the clock.
And even after being backed up to a difficult third-down situation after recovering his own fumble and a ten-yard infraction, Cousins made key throws to Pitts and receiver David Sills V to position the Falcons in field goal range for Gonzalez to drill a 43-yard game winner.
Cousins finished with 373 passing yards and three scoring throws to Pitts, who collected 166 receiving yards from eleven receptions.
Postseason Ramifications
Atlanta is now 5-9, and their upset of Tampa Bay did a favour for the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers (7-6) now sit atop the NFC South and will face the Buccaneers in 2 of their final 4 games. Only the team that wins the division is guaranteed a play-off berth.
