Kyle Pitts Three-Touchdown Performance Powers Falcons Remarkable Comeback Victory Against Buccaneers.
Kyle Pitts has now recorded 14 touchdowns since being selected as the fourth overall pick in the 2021 selection process.
National Football League 2025 Campaign: The fifteenth week
Kyle Pitts registered three scores as the Atlanta Falcons engineered a dramatic rally to secure a nail-biting 29-28 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Kicker Zane Gonzalez converted a clutch kick as time ran out, while Pitts etched his name as only the 8th tight end in NFL history to achieve three receiving catches and over 150 yards through the air in a single game.
After starting the year as one of the NFL's early-season leaders, the Buccaneers have now fallen from the top of the AFC South for the first time in 2025, with just three games left in the regular campaign.
They now hold a 7-7 mark after losing 5 of their previous six outings. This includes back-to-back home defeats in the space of 5 days to two division rivals who are eliminated from play-off the race.
Contest Recap
The Buccaneers started the scoring with a Sean Tucker score before the Falcons held a 14-13 lead at half-time. This followed Pitts, who came into Thursday's game with just one touchdown all year, hauled in his initial pair of scores.
The home team subsequently raced into a 28-14 lead early in the final quarter after quarterback Baker Mayfield threw touchdown passes to Devin Culp and Chris Godwin Jr.
Veteran signal-caller Kirk Cousins was starting his fourth straight start after a season-ending injury to Atlanta's primary quarterback Michael Penix Jr. The veteran proceeded to guide the Falcons to the thirty-second final period rally of his distinguished NFL tenure.
Running back Bijan Robinson got into the end zone before Pitts completed his three-touchdown game. Atlanta then regained the ball with less than two minutes remaining.
And even after being backed up to a difficult third-down situation after recovering his own fumble and a 10-yard infraction, Cousins completed key throws to Pitts and wideout David Sills V to position the Falcons in range for Gonzalez to kick a 43-yard winning field goal.
Cousins ended the day with 373 yards through the air and three scoring passes to Pitts, who amassed 166 receiving yards from 11 receptions.
Postseason Implications
Atlanta is now 5-9, and their surprise victory of Tampa Bay greatly helped the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers (7-6) now sit atop the NFC South and are set to face the Buccaneers in two of their final four matchups. Only the division winner is assured a play-off berth.