Falcon Report

'He's a Dog': Falcons' Kyle Pitts Stars at Bucs on National Tight Ends Day

Tight end Kyle Pitts caught a career-high two touchdown passes in the Atlanta Falcons' 31-26 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Daniel Flick

Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts caught two touchdown passes in the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts caught two touchdown passes in the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
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TAMPA, Fla. -- Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts needed only one half to set new season -- and career -- bests in Sunday's 31-26 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.

The 24-year-old Pitts caught four passes for a season-high 91 receiving yards to go along with two touchdowns. Sunday served as the first multi-touchdown game of Pitts's four-year NFL career.

Pitts set the tone on Atlanta's first drive of the day.

Given the ball in Buccaneers territory after safety Jessie Bates III forced a fumble, the Falcons' offense faced 4th and 3. Head coach Raheem Morris left his offense on the field, and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson dialed up a play designed for receivers Drake London and Darnell Mooney.

But the Buccaneers double-covered both players. Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins recognized it, and with a sturdy-enough pocket, worked his eyes over to Pitts, who overcame a holding penalty on Bucs safety Kaevon Merriweather to win his route angled toward the right pylon.

Some 36 yards later, Pitts was in the endzone, and the Falcons were in the lead.

"I just put some air on it and said, 'Go run underneath it,'" Cousins said postgame. "What he does so well once he catches it is his ability to pull away."

Pitts caught a well-placed pass from Cousins, and after re-gaining speed following his catch, Pitts kept Merriweather at bay.

That, Cousins said, is once instance of Pitts's breakaway speed. His second touchdown catch is another.

Halfway through the second quarter, the Falcons were in a 2nd and 10 just past midfield. Pitts lined up in the slot to the right of the formation, running past the sticks before breaking over the middle.

Cousins rifled the ball into a narrow window, and Pitts ran through one arm tackle, split two defenders and slipped out of one final tackle attempt on his way to the endzone.

But instead of pulling away, as Pitts neared the goal line, he pedaled down and became loose with the ball, corralling it in his left hand while dropping his arm to his side.

Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. never stopped running, and he knocked the ball loose -- but the officials stuck with the initial call of a touchdown. Pitts said the ensuing review felt like it lasted 20 minutes, though on National Tight End's Day, fortune was on his side.

"The tight end gods -- they saved us today," Pitts said postgame. "Never get comfortable."

Morris spoke with Pitts on the sideline after the play, delivering a message Morris chose not to reveal afterwards. He did, however, tell Cousins he didn't need to talk to Pitts because he'd already done it.

Cousins still spoke to Pitts, telling him to stay the course because the Falcons were going to target him again.

They did -- and while Pitts caught only two passes for six yards thereafter, his final stat line remained his most productive this season.

But it was a line Cousins knew the 6-foot-6, 250-pound Pitts could produce if he tapped into the speed, length and size he possesses.

"My message to him all through camp was, 'If you play fast and play at your absolute ceiling with your speed and play big, that’s where you’re going to be your most dangerous,'" Cousins said postgame. "So, if I don’t feel he’s doing that, I just tell him those two things: I need you to play fast and I need you to play big.

"And certainly, he showed that today in a couple of those runaways of what he’s capable of."

Through the season's first four games, Pitts was minimally involved. He caught eight passes for 105 yards and a touchdown and was shutout in a Week 4 victory over the New Orleans Saints.

But since the calendar flipped to October, Pitts has starred.

Across four games, Pitts owns 21 catches for 314 yards and two scores, both coming Sunday in Tampa. He attributed it to simply wanting to contribute whenever the ball goes his way.

But Morris took a different approach, noting Pitts is playing to the level his physical tools and "Unicorn" nickname suggest he can reach on a consistent basis.

"Energetic, playing the right way other than the one almost lapse of his mind," Morris said postgame. "But that's how you want Kyle to play. You want him to play fast, physical -- he's bigger, faster, stronger."

And when Pitts does those things, numbers tend to follow. They didn't in the second half, as Pitts wasn't targeted, but the Falcons only threw nine passes while logging 22 rushes over the final 30 minutes of game action.

Still, the shades Pitts showed of his former Pro Bowl self in the first half served as an encouraging sign in his path back to being amongst the game's top tight ends -- even if it's a loose association.

"He's a receiver at heart, but I mean, he's a dog," Mooney said postgame. "He's a dog. He's just got to continue to be consistent, continue to stay ready when his number's called and the ball is going to find him."

The ball has gone toward Pitts more over the past month. He totaled only 15 targets in Weeks 1-4 but has 27 in the last four games.

This, Morris said, is a testament to Robinson, tight ends coach Kevin Koger and the rest of Atlanta's offensive staff -- in addition to Pitts, who Morris feels embodies the direction the Falcons are headed.

"I've got to give my coaches credit for finding ways to utilize him more and more every single week, the kid credit for finding ways to go out there and be as productive as he possibly can be," Morris said, "and I'm so proud of that constant growth we're doing."

Cousins told Pitts after the near-fumble that they'd talk more about fundamentals Monday. In that moment, Atlanta was focused forward, intent on topping Tampa Bay and claiming sole possession of first place in the NFC South.

The Falcons did exactly that. Now, Pitts enters November as a division leader for the first time in his career -- and while he said he's taking it on a week-by-week basis, he remains pleased with where Atlanta stands.

"It’s pretty cool for us just to be a new team with a new vision," Pitts said.

Yet for himself, a blast to the past -- and all his former production and accolades -- has been a welcomed sight for the Falcons' offense.

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Daniel Flick
DANIEL FLICK

Daniel Flick is an accredited NFL writer for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Daniel has provided boots-on-ground coverage at the NFL Combine and from the Atlanta Falcons' headquarters, among other destinations, and contributed to the annual Lindy's Sports Magazine ahead of the 2023 offseason. Daniel is a co-host on the 404TheFalcon podcast and previously wrote for the Around the Block Network and Georgia Sports Hospitality Media.

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