Pitts Three-Touchdown Performance Fuels Atlanta Remarkable Fightback Win Over Buccaneers.
Kyle Pitts has now scored 14 touchdowns since being selected as the fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft.
NFL 2025 Season: The fifteenth week
Kyle Pitts notched three touchdowns as the Atlanta Falcons mounted a dramatic comeback to secure a last-gasp 29-28 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Placekicker Zane Gonzalez converted a clutch kick as time expired, while Pitts became only the 8th tight end in league history to record three touchdown catches and over 150 yards through the air in a single game.
After beginning the season as one of the NFL's early-season pacesetters, the Buccaneers have now dropped from the summit of the AFC South for the initial time in 2025, with just three contests left in the regular campaign.
They currently possess a 7-7 mark after losing five of their last six games. This features consecutive home defeats in the span of 5 days to two division opponents who are out of play-off contention.
Game Recap
The Buccaneers started the scoring with a Sean Tucker touchdown before the Falcons took a 14-13 advantage at the intermission. This followed Pitts, who entered Thursday's game with just a single touchdown all year, claimed his first two touchdowns.
The Buccaneers subsequently raced into a 28-14 lead early in the final period after QB Baker Mayfield connected on scoring passes to Devin Culp and Chris Godwin Jr.
Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins was starting his fourth straight start after a season-ending injury to Atlanta's starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. The veteran then led the Falcons to the thirty-second fourth-quarter rally of his distinguished NFL tenure.
Tailback Bijan Robinson found the end zone before Pitts completed his three-touchdown game. Atlanta subsequently won back the ball with under two minutes remaining.
And despite being pinned to a third and 28 after a fumble recovery and a ten-yard infraction, Cousins completed crucial throws to Pitts and receiver David Sills V to get the Falcons in field goal range for Gonzalez to drill a 43-yard winning field goal.
Cousins finished with 373 yards through the air and three scoring passes to Pitts, who amassed 166 receiving yards from eleven receptions.
Playoff Implications
Atlanta improved to 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 will face the Buccaneers in two of their final 4 games. Only the team that wins the division is assured a postseason spot.
