Kyle Pitts Three-Touchdown Performance Powers Falcons Stunning Fightback Victory Over Tampa Bay.

Kyle Pitts in action during the contest.

The star tight end has now recorded 14 touchdowns since being drafted as the fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft.

National Football League 2025 Season: The fifteenth week

Kyle Pitts notched three touchdowns as the Atlanta Falcons mounted a late rally to snatch a nail-biting 29-28 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Kicker Zane Gonzalez converted a game-winning kick as time ran out, while Pitts became only the 8th tight end in league 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 early-season pacesetters, the Buccaneers have now fallen from the top of the AFC South for the initial time in 2025, with just 3 games remaining in the regular season.

They now hold a 7-7 mark after losing five of their last six outings. This includes back-to-back home losses in the span of five days to two division opponents who are out of play-off contention.

Game Recap

The Buccaneers started the scoring with a Sean Tucker touchdown before the Falcons took a 14-13 lead at half-time. This came after Pitts, who entered Thursday's game with just one touchdown all year, claimed his first two touchdowns.

The Buccaneers then surged into a 28-14 advantage early in the fourth period after QB Baker Mayfield threw scoring throws 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 fourth-quarter rally of his distinguished NFL tenure.

Tailback Bijan Robinson got into the end zone before Pitts completed his hat-trick. Atlanta subsequently won back possession with less than two minutes left on the clock.

And despite being pinned to a third and 28 after recovering his own fumble and a ten-yard penalty, Cousins completed crucial throws to Pitts and wideout 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 collected 166 yards from 11 catches.

Postseason Ramifications

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 will face the Buccaneers in two of their final four matchups. Only the division winner is guaranteed a play-off spot.

Tyler Leon
Tyler Leon

A digital marketing strategist with over a decade of experience in content creation and SEO optimization for Swedish audiences.