Kyle Pitts joins rare air with 3-TD performance in Atlanta win
By Luke Greco
Published:
Former Florida tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. had himself quite a night in Tampa Bay on Thursday Night Football with a 3-touchdown performance that helped lead his Atlanta Falcons to a 29-28 win over the Buccaneers.
Pitts ended the night with 11 receptions for 166 yards and 3 touchdowns. It’s the first time all season that Pitts has surpassed the 100-yard receiving mark and his first multi-touchdown game of the season.
According to ESPN Research, Pitts is the first tight end with at least 150 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns in a game since 1996, and he is one of only 5 tight ends to reach these numbers since 1970.
This is Pitts’s first game surpassing 100 yards receiving since December 26, 2021, when he totaled 6 receptions for 102 yards against the Detroit Lions. This is also his second multi-touchdown game since entering the NFL in 2021. The other game came last year against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well. Pitts ended that game with 4 receptions for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Bucs just couldn’t seem to find an answer for stopping Pitts.
Coming out of Florida, Pitts was regarded as a unicorn at the tight end position and was selected 4th overall by the Atlanta Falcons. Up until this point, Pitts has had a fairly disappointing start to his NFL career. Hopefully, a performance like Thursday night’s can help flip the script.
