Kyle Pitts Three-Touchdown Performance Fuels Atlanta Remarkable Fightback Victory Against Tampa Bay.

NFL 2025 Campaign: The fifteenth week

Kyle Pitts scored three touchdowns as the Atlanta Falcons engineered a dramatic rally to secure a nail-biting 29-28 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Placekicker Zane Gonzalez booted a game-winning field goal as time ran out, while Pitts became only the 8th tight end in NFL history to record three receiving catches and over 150 yards through the air in a same contest.

After beginning the season as one of the NFL's initial leaders, the Buccaneers have now fallen from the top of the AFC South for the initial time in 2025, with just 3 contests remaining in the regular campaign.

They now hold a 7-7 mark after losing 5 of their previous six outings. This features consecutive home-field losses in the span of five days to two division rivals who are out of play-off the race.

Game Recap

The Buccaneers opened the scoring with a Sean Tucker score before the Falcons took a 14-13 lead at the intermission. This came after Pitts, who came into Thursday's game with just one touchdown all season, hauled in his initial pair of scores.

The home team then surged into a 28-14 advantage early in the fourth quarter after QB Baker Mayfield threw touchdown throws to Devin Culp and Chris Godwin Jr.

Experienced quarterback Kirk Cousins was making 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.

Running back Bijan Robinson found the end zone before Pitts secured his hat-trick. Atlanta subsequently won back the ball with less than two minutes left on the clock.

And even after being pinned to a difficult third-down situation after recovering his own fumble and a 10-yard penalty, Cousins made crucial passes 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 finished with 373 passing yards and three scoring passes to Pitts, who amassed 166 receiving yards from 11 receptions.

Playoff Implications

Atlanta is now 5-9, and their surprise victory 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 4 matchups. Only the division winner is guaranteed a play-off spot.