FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts was targeted three times and did not have a catch, for the first time in his NFL career, in the 26-24 win over the Saints on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Pitts has had at least one catch in all previous 47 games. He had one against Chicago last season and one in a win over Cleveland.
Pitts had three 100-yard games as a rookie, including a monster seven-catch for 163 yards in a 30-28 win over the Dolphins on Oct. 24, 2021. He has eight catches for 108 yards and a touchdown this season, including a big 50-yard catch against the Chiefs.
Falcons coach Raheem Morris was not overly concerned with Pitts not having a catch.
“It’s about going out there and winning the game when you’re out there and playing,” Morris said. “He 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. Really, for me, stats are for losers, man. 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.”
Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is working on getting Pitts, who was the fourth player selected overall in the 2021 NFL draft, the ball and believes he forced it to him on at least one of his targets.
“The under route I threw to him, really shouldn’t have,” Cousins said. “I should have gone over his head to Ray-Ray (McCloud). On the shallow cross to Kyle where we had the incidental contact. So, really that was one where it was incomplete, but had a chance their if their feet don’t get tripped.”
Cousins also has to work through his progressions on the pass plays.
“Then there are other ones like the third down, at midfield in the second quarter, that I threw to Drake incomplete,” Cousins said. “Looking back, I wish I’d worked Kyle over his head on a deep corner route.”
Cousins talks to Pitts during the games.
“So, there are some plays out there when I come to sideline, I say, “Kyle, I’ve got to work you there,’” Cousins said. “Then there are other ones where I did work him. I say, ‘I probably shouldn’t have forced it to you.’ It goes both ways. You always go where your reads take you and it skews the numbers one way or the other. Sometimes. it’s really balanced. You just have to go where they take you.”
Wide receivers Darnell Mooney finished with three catches for 56 yards. London had six catches for 64 yards and McCloud had six catches for 52 yards. Running back Bijan Robinson had four for 46 yards.
