Kyle Pitts Hat-Trick Fuels Atlanta Remarkable Comeback Win Over Buccaneers.
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 Season: The fifteenth week
Kyle Pitts registered three scores as the Atlanta Falcons engineered a late rally to snatch a nail-biting 29-28 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Kicker Zane Gonzalez converted a game-winning kick as time ran out, while Pitts etched his name as only the 8th tight end in league history to record three touchdown catches and more than 150 receiving yards in a same contest.
After starting the year as one of the NFL's early-season pacesetters, the Buccaneers have now dropped from the top of the AFC South for the initial time in 2025, with just three games left in the regular campaign.
They currently possess a 7-7 mark after losing five of their previous six outings. This includes back-to-back home-field losses in the space of 5 days to two divisional opponents who are out of play-off contention.
Game Summary
The Buccaneers started the scoring with a Sean Tucker touchdown before the Falcons took a 14-13 lead at the intermission. This followed Pitts, who entered Thursday's matchup with just one touchdown all year, hauled in his initial pair of 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 signal-caller Kirk Cousins was making his fourth consecutive start after a season-ending injury to Atlanta's primary quarterback Michael Penix Jr. The veteran then led the Falcons to the 32nd fourth-quarter rally of his illustrious career.
Running back Bijan Robinson found the end zone before Pitts secured his three-touchdown game. Atlanta subsequently won back possession with less than two minutes left on the clock.
And even after being pinned to a third and 28 after recovering his own fumble and a 10-yard penalty, Cousins completed key throws to Pitts and receiver David Sills V to position the Falcons in field goal range for Gonzalez to drill a 43-yard winning field goal.
Cousins ended the day with 373 yards through the air and three touchdown throws to Pitts, who amassed 166 yards from eleven receptions.
Postseason Implications
Atlanta is now 5-9, and their upset of Tampa Bay did a favour for the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers (7-6) now sit atop the NFC South and will face the Buccaneers in two of their last four games. Only the division winner is guaranteed a postseason berth.
