Kyle Pitts Hat-Trick Fuels Falcons Remarkable Fightback Win Over Tampa Bay.

National Football League 2025 Season: The fifteenth week

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

Kicker Zane Gonzalez converted a clutch field goal as time expired, while Pitts etched his name as only the eighth tight end in league history to record three receiving catches and more than 150 receiving yards in a single contest.

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

They currently possess a 7-7 record after losing 5 of their previous six games. This features back-to-back home-field losses in the space of 5 days to two division opponents who are out of postseason contention.

Contest Recap

The Buccaneers started the scoring with a Sean Tucker score before the Falcons held a 14-13 advantage at half-time. This came after Pitts, who came into Thursday's game with just a single touchdown all year, claimed his initial pair of scores.

The Buccaneers subsequently raced into a 28-14 advantage early in the final quarter after QB Baker Mayfield connected on scoring throws to Devin Culp and Chris Godwin Jr.

Experienced signal-caller Kirk Cousins was making his fourth straight start after a season-ending injury to Atlanta's primary quarterback Michael Penix Jr. The 37-year-old proceeded to guide the Falcons to the thirty-second final period rally of his illustrious career.

Tailback Bijan Robinson found the end zone before Pitts secured his hat-trick. Atlanta then regained possession with less than two minutes left on the clock.

And despite being backed up to a difficult third-down situation after recovering his own fumble and a ten-yard penalty, Cousins made key passes to Pitts and wideout David Sills V to get the Falcons in field goal range for Gonzalez to drill a 43-yard winning field goal.

Cousins finished with 373 passing yards and three touchdown passes to Pitts, who amassed 166 receiving yards from 11 catches.

Postseason Ramifications

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 2 of their final four matchups. Only the division winner is guaranteed a play-off spot.