Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts committed the cardinal sin of ball security during his team’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, and he just barely got away with it.
Pitts caught a 49-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins midway through the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The former Florida star broke a couple of tackles and then sprinted to the end zone, but he clearly did not realize how closely he was being pursued by Bucs safety Antoine Winfield Jr.
As Pitts crossed the goal line, he took his foot off the gas and dangled the ball at his side. Winfield knocked the ball out, but the nearest official ruled that Pitts broke the plane first.
Oh no…
It looked like Pitts had his 2nd TD of the day… But did he lose the ball before reaching the endzone??
: FOX pic.twitter.com/Wbagh2hT7l
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 27, 2024
The scoring play was automatically reviewed and stood as called. FOX did not show any angle from directly down the goal line, so the officials may not have had a good enough look to overturn the call.
Pitts learned a valuable lesson on the play and is lucky it did not cost his team. We highly doubt you will ever see him dangling the ball like that again as he crosses the goal line.
