Pitts Hat-Trick Powers Falcons Stunning Fightback Victory Against Tampa Bay.
Kyle Pitts 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 scored three scores as the Atlanta Falcons mounted a dramatic comeback to secure a nail-biting 29-28 triumph over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Placekicker Zane Gonzalez booted a game-winning field goal as time ran out, while Pitts became only the eighth tight end in NFL history to record three touchdown catches and more than 150 receiving yards in a single game.
After starting the season as one of the NFL's initial pacesetters, the Buccaneers have now dropped from the summit of the AFC South for the first time in 2025, with just 3 games left in the regular campaign.
They now hold a 7-7 record after suffering five of their previous six outings. This includes consecutive home-field defeats in the space of five days to two division opponents who are out of postseason the race.
Game Summary
The Buccaneers started the scoring with a Sean Tucker touchdown before the Falcons held a 14-13 advantage at the intermission. This came after Pitts, who came into Thursday's matchup with just one score all year, hauled in his initial pair of scores.
The home team then surged into a 28-14 advantage early in the final quarter 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 season-ending injury to Atlanta's starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. The 37-year-old proceeded to guide the Falcons to the thirty-second fourth-quarter rally of his distinguished NFL tenure.
Running back Bijan Robinson got into the end zone before Pitts secured his three-touchdown game. Atlanta then regained the ball with under two minutes left on the clock.
And despite being pinned to a third and 28 after a fumble recovery and a ten-yard infraction, 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 yards through the air and three touchdown throws to Pitts, who collected 166 receiving yards from 11 catches.
Playoff 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 2 of their final four matchups. Only the division winner is guaranteed a play-off spot.
