The star tight end has now scored 14 scores since being drafted as the fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft.
National Football League 2025 Season: The fifteenth week
Kyle Pitts scored three touchdowns as the Atlanta Falcons mounted a dramatic rally to snatch a nail-biting 29-28 triumph over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Kicker Zane Gonzalez converted a game-winning field goal as time expired, while Pitts etched his name as only the 8th tight end in league history to record three receiving catches and more than 150 receiving yards in a same game.
After starting the season as one of the NFL's early-season pacesetters, the Buccaneers have now fallen from the top of the AFC South for the initial time in 2025, with just three contests remaining in the regular season.
They now hold a 7-7 record after losing five of their last six games. This features consecutive home defeats in the space of five days to two divisional rivals who are eliminated from postseason the race.
Contest Recap
The Buccaneers started the scoring with a Sean Tucker touchdown 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, claimed his initial pair of touchdowns.
The Buccaneers then surged into a 28-14 advantage early in the fourth period after QB Baker Mayfield connected on scoring passes to Devin Culp and Chris Godwin Jr.
Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins was starting his fourth consecutive start after a year-ending injury to Atlanta's primary quarterback Michael Penix Jr. The 37-year-old then led the Falcons to the thirty-second fourth-quarter rally of his illustrious NFL tenure.
Tailback 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 third and 28 after a fumble recovery and a ten-yard infraction, Cousins made crucial throws to Pitts and receiver David Sills V to get the Falcons in range for Gonzalez to drill a 43-yard game winner.
Cousins finished with 373 passing yards and three scoring passes to Pitts, who collected 166 yards from eleven catches.
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 4 matchups. Only the division winner is guaranteed a postseason spot.
