The star tight end has now recorded 14 touchdowns since being selected as the fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft.
National Football League 2025 Campaign: The fifteenth week
Kyle Pitts notched three scores as the Atlanta Falcons engineered a dramatic rally to snatch a nail-biting 29-28 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Placekicker Zane Gonzalez converted a clutch field goal as time expired, while Pitts etched his name as only the eighth tight end in league history to achieve three touchdown catches and over 150 yards through the air in a single contest.
After beginning the year as one of the NFL's early-season pacesetters, 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 season.
They currently possess a 7-7 record after suffering five of their last six games. This includes back-to-back home-field defeats in the span of five days to two divisional opponents who are eliminated from play-off contention.
Game Recap
The Buccaneers started the scoring with a Sean Tucker score before the Falcons took a 14-13 lead at half-time. This followed Pitts, who entered 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 QB Baker Mayfield threw touchdown passes to Devin Culp and Chris Godwin Jr.
Veteran signal-caller Kirk Cousins was starting his fourth consecutive start after a season-ending injury to Atlanta's primary quarterback Michael Penix Jr. The 37-year-old then led the Falcons to the thirty-second final period comeback of his illustrious NFL tenure.
Running back Bijan Robinson got into the end zone before Pitts secured his three-touchdown game. Atlanta then regained possession with under two minutes remaining.
And even after being pinned to a difficult third-down situation after a fumble recovery and a 10-yard penalty, Cousins made key passes to Pitts and receiver David Sills V to position the Falcons in field goal range for Gonzalez to kick a 43-yard winning field goal.
Cousins ended the day with 373 passing yards and three scoring passes to Pitts, who amassed 166 yards from 11 receptions.
Playoff Ramifications
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 matchups. Only the team that wins the division is assured a postseason berth.
