Kyle Pitts Three-Touchdown Performance Powers Atlanta Remarkable Fightback Win Over Tampa Bay.
Kyle Pitts has now scored 14 touchdowns since being selected as the number four overall pick in the 2021 selection process.
NFL 2025 Campaign: Week 15
Kyle Pitts scored three touchdowns as the Atlanta Falcons engineered a dramatic rally to snatch a last-gasp 29-28 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Kicker Zane Gonzalez booted a clutch kick as time expired, while Pitts etched his name as only the 8th tight end in league history to record three touchdown catches and over 150 receiving yards in a same contest.
After beginning the season as one of the NFL's early-season pacesetters, the Buccaneers have now fallen from the summit of the AFC South for the first time in 2025, with just 3 contests remaining in the regular campaign.
They currently possess a 7-7 mark after losing five of their previous six games. This includes consecutive home defeats in the span of five days to two divisional opponents who are out of postseason contention.
Game Recap
The Buccaneers opened the scoring with a Sean Tucker score before the Falcons took a 14-13 lead at half-time. This came after Pitts, who entered Thursday's game with just a single score all year, hauled in his initial pair of touchdowns.
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 starting his fourth straight start after a year-ending injury to Atlanta's primary quarterback Michael Penix Jr. The 37-year-old proceeded to guide the Falcons to the thirty-second fourth-quarter comeback of his illustrious NFL tenure.
Running back Bijan Robinson found the end zone before Pitts secured his three-touchdown game. Atlanta subsequently won back the ball with under two minutes remaining.
And even after being pinned to a difficult third-down situation after recovering his own fumble and a 10-yard penalty, Cousins completed key passes to Pitts and receiver David Sills V to position the Falcons in field goal range for Gonzalez to kick a 43-yard game winner.
Cousins finished with 373 yards through the air and three touchdown throws to Pitts, who amassed 166 receiving yards from eleven receptions.
Playoff Implications
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 last four matchups. Only the team that wins the division is assured a play-off spot.
