Falcons Coach Says 'Stats Are for Losers' as Kyle Pitts Shutout vs. Saints

Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts was held without a catch for the first time in his NFL career in Sunday's win over the New Orleans Saints.

Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts was held without a reception Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

ATLANTA -- Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts entered Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints already facing questions about a lack of involvement in the team's offensive production.

Those questions only strengthened after Atlanta's 26-24 victory over New Orleans inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, during which Pitts saw just three targets and failed to make any receptions.

But Falcons coach Raheem Morris doesn't want to hear about Pitts' lack of productivity.

"Really, for me, stats are for losers, man," Morris said. "I don't get involved in that stuff. You go out and try to win each game. We were able to win it today, and that's what we did."

Pitts saw his first target on Atlanta's fourth offensive play, which came one minute into the game, but he didn't receive another until the 11:40 mark in the second quarter. This target ended in a one-yard gain, but offensive pass interference on receiver Drake London negated it.

The 23-year-old Pitts was out of the target share for the rest of the first half. With 9:30 left in the third quarter, he ran an under route that quarterback Kirk Cousins said he regretted throwing because Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore drove on the pass and nearly intercepted it.

Pitts' final opportunity came in the fourth quarter, with 3:49 remaining. None of his four targets came downfield; all were underneath.

Cousins took part of the blame for this, noting he threw a pass to London in the second quarter that could have gone to Pitts on a deep corner. And so, whether it's a missed read from Cousins or an inability to connect when it's the right one, Pitts went without a catch Sunday.

"It's interesting," Cousins said. "There's some plays out there where I come to the sideline and say, 'Hey, Kyle, I got to work you there.' Then there's other ones where I did work him and say, 'Hey, I probably shouldn't have forced it to you.' It goes both ways.

"But just always go where your reads take you. And sometimes it skews the number one way or another, and sometimes it's balanced and you have to go where they take you."

The numbers the Falcons care most about from Sunday are these: 26, their point total, and 24, the Saints' point total.

To Morris, this is all that matters.

"It's about going out there and winning the game when you’re out there and playing," Morris said. "[Pitts] had a couple of targets today, had a couple of things going out that way. We believe we got a questionable call at the end of the stretch of the game to Kyle. Those things always are unfortunate."

As for Pitts, the numbers are what they are -- through four games, he has eight receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown. He caught three passes apiece the first two weeks and made two receptions for 59 yards in Week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs, headlined by a 50-yard explosive from Cousins.

But for Pitts, the highest-drafted tight end in NFL history who eclipsed 1,000 yards as a rookie and entered 2024 trying to get back to that level, Sunday was a new low -- the first time he's been shutout as a professional.

Yet as long as the Falcons keep winning, Morris and the staff has no qualms.

[READ MORE: Falcons Defense 'Bows the F*** Up', Drives Win Over Saints]