TAMPA, Fla – Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts needed some divine intervention on his second touchdown of the game.
Pitts caught four passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns to help the Falcons defeat the Buccaneers 31-26 on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.
Pitts pulled his foot off the gas as he eased across the goal line on a 49-yard touchdown. Bucs safety Antoine Winfield Jr. smacked the ball away and it went out of bounds. If Pitts was not across the goal line, it would have been a touchback and the Bucs’ ball at the 20.
The replay review determined that Pitts had crossed the goal line. The touchdown allowed the Falcons to tie the game, 14-14.
“Lord, have mercy,” a jubilant Pitts said after the game. “The tight end gods – they saved us today. Never get comfortable.”
Asked about the play, later.
“I’m never doing that again,” said Pitts, who had his first multiple TD game of his career.
It was the second of quarterback Kirk Cousins’ four touchdown passes. He also had touchdown pass of 36 yards to Pitts, 30 to Darnell Mooney and 6 yards to running back Bijan Robinson.
“On the (first) touchdown, (Bucs coach Todd Bowles) was doubling Drake (London) and Darnell,” Cousins said. “It’s a pretty good scheme. It was a good look with how they were doing it. They kind drove the safeties over there.”
That left Pitts as the last option.
“I got shut out,” Cousins said. “I didn’t feel like I had anything over there. So, I kind of worked back and Kyle was able to win against his defender.”
Cousins lofted it up for Pitts.
“I just kind of put air on it, just so he could go underneath it,” Cousins said. “What he does so well, once he catches it, he has the ability to pull away. He did that on the second touchdown as well. His ability to pull away is pretty elite.”
The shifty Mooney ran a corner-post route and was open.
“The touchdown to Mooney was just a great route by him,” Cousins said. “Getting the separation from the corner. I just wanted to make sure that we could layer it over the safety, which we were able to do.”
After the 34-14 loss to the Seahawks, Cousins asked to address the team on Tuesday. Coach Raheem Morris saved him a time slot during the Friday team meeting.
“I just had a thought coming out of the Seattle game,” Cousins said. “Kind of where we are and where we have to go. Today was the kind of first step in the direction we have to go.”
The loss was weighing on Cousins.
“This league beats you up and test you every day,” Cousins said. “It just kicks you down and you’ve got to get back up. Sometimes, I just have to encourage myself. When I was encouraging myself, I thought, you know what, maybe somebody else can use this, too.”
Pitts received the message.
“I just try to contribute anyway that I can in this offense,” Pitts said. “When the ball comes my way, I try to make the most of it.”
The Falcons are now in control of the NFC South.
“This is the first time (since) I’ve been here with us having a division lead this late into the season,” Pitts said. “So, it’s pretty cool for us to be a new team with a new vision.”
Pitts admitted that he was sweating out the review.
“It felt like almost 20 minutes,” Pitts said. “I was like ‘oh lord, this is not looking good.’ But like I said, the tight end gods saved me.”
Falcons’ safety Jessie Bates III has watched Pitts continue to develop. He cherished their battles over the offseason and in training camp.
“To watch him keep developing from years past,” Bates said. “He was hurt a couple of times last year (as he was coming back from knee surgery). This year, when you have a leader like Kirk Cousins that can push Kyle Pitts, continue to put the belief in him. I think the sky is the limit for Kyle.”
Pitts has been coming after having no catches for the first time in his career against the Saints on Sept. 29. He’s caught 21 passes in the four games since.
“Kyle is a unicorn,” Bates said. “He’s been one from Day One when he got drafted. I think he showed that today. Just continuing to do that consistently, every single game. I think Kyle will be fine. It will be great for our team as well.”
