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Because the Atlanta Falcons (5-9) have been irrelevant for much of the campaign, and the decade and if we’re being frank, it is easy to overlook Kyle Pitts’ late-season surge. The fifth-year tight end is quietly posting his best campaign since he was a rookie and entered Thursday’s NFC South showdown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers having recorded at least eight catches and 80 yards in his previous two games. He absolutely exploded in Raymond James Stadium, scoring three touchdowns in an improbable 29-28 win.
His last one, which came with about three and a half minutes left in the game, was crucial, unconventional and highly scrutinized. Pitts fell to the ground while juggling the Kirk Cousins pass and needed to rely on his caboose to secure the seven-yard score. There was much debate about if his backside landed before his elbow went out of bounds, but the TD call stood after an official replay review, and Atlanta pulled within two points of Tampa.
Pitts himself was a bit confused on the play. “I definitely thought I got the second foot down,” the former No. 4 overall draft pick said after his team overcame a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter, per beat writer Terrin Waack. “I didn’t know it was my cheek.” Whatever works, right?
Pitts’ monster outing goes beyond just one play, though. In addition to his three TDs, Pitts totaled 11 receptions on 12 targets for 166 yards. The 25-year-old also snagged a critical 14-yard catch on third-and-28 with 1:20 remaining on the clock, but as @_DTyson and others noted on X, he appeared to jump early on the play.
While officiating controversy constantly creeps into the end of these prime-time matchups, the Buccaneers had opportunities to salt this one away. The Falcons also had to make a number of impressive plays to earn this uncharacteristically gritty Thursday Night Football victory. Kirk Cousins was masterful, displaying a lethal connection with Kyle Pitts. The former Florida Gators star TE and unanimous All-American relishes the opportunity to play in The Sunshine State.
“I love the great state of Florida, yes I do,” he told reporters, per The Athletic’s Josh Kendall. Pitts should feel especially jubilant, for he may have just earned himself a decent chunk of change with his mammoth game. The forthcoming free agent put on quite the show for fans and the rest of the league, and it came at the expense of a divisional foe. That is what one calls a pretty great night.
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