The star tight end has now scored 14 scores since being selected as the number four overall pick in the 2021 selection process.
National Football League 2025 Season: The fifteenth week
Kyle Pitts scored three scores as the Atlanta Falcons mounted a late comeback to snatch a last-gasp 29-28 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Placekicker Zane Gonzalez booted a game-winning field goal as time expired, while Pitts etched his name as 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 year 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 contests left in the regular campaign.
They now hold a 7-7 record after losing 5 of their previous six games. This includes back-to-back home-field defeats in the span of 5 days to two divisional rivals who are out of postseason contention.
Contest Recap
The Buccaneers opened the scoring with a Sean Tucker touchdown before the Falcons took a 14-13 lead at half-time. This followed Pitts, who came into Thursday's game with just one score all season, claimed his initial pair of touchdowns.
The home team then surged into a 28-14 advantage early in the final period after QB Baker Mayfield connected on touchdown passes to Devin Culp and Chris Godwin Jr.
Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins was making his fourth consecutive start after a year-ending injury to Atlanta's starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. The 37-year-old then led the Falcons to the thirty-second fourth-quarter rally of his distinguished NFL tenure.
Tailback Bijan Robinson got into the end zone before Pitts secured his hat-trick. Atlanta then regained the ball with less than two minutes left on the clock.
And despite being pinned to a difficult third-down situation after a fumble recovery and a 10-yard infraction, Cousins completed crucial 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 scoring throws to Pitts, who amassed 166 yards from 11 catches.
Playoff Implications
Atlanta is now 5-9, and their upset 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.
