Nobody had a better night on Thursday than Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts.
Pitts had what was no doubt the best game of his career in the 29-28 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night.
The former first-round pick posted career-bests with 11 catches for 166 receiving yards and three touchdowns, playing a massive role in Atlanta's win.
A tight end posting that performance is quiet rare. In fact, Pitts is just the fifth tight end in NFL history to tally 150 or more receiving yards and three scores in a game.
The last player to do it was Denver Broncos legend Shannon Sharpe, who accomplished the feat in 1996, per ESPN Insights.
The other three tight ends to hit those marks in the same game since the AFL-NFL merger are Kellen Winslow Sr., Todd Christensen and Rich Caster.
While Pitts has been having a strong bounce-back season after some rough ones the past few years, his explosion was quite unexpected.
Pitts hadn't crossed the century mark in receiving yards in a game since his rookie campaign and he had just one touchdown all season.
With his explosive performance on Thursday, Pitts has tied his single-season high of four touchdowns and he's now passed his second-highest yardage output in a single season.
Over the last three weeks, Pitts has really come alive. In that span, he has 24 catches for 338 yards and three scores.
Pitts is on track to make things difficult for the Falcons, who have to decide whether or not to re-sign him as he prepares to hit free agency.
Atlanta has a few avenues it can take. The Falcons can let Pitts walk in free agency, extend him, or utilize the franchise tag, which would give them more time to work out a contract extension while also giving the Falcons the option to trade him.
We'll know by no later than March what the Falcons plan to do.
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