Video Emerges Showing Kyle Pitts Fumbled Before The End Zone
October 28th, 2024
The disbelief continues.
Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts rumbled toward the end zone yesterday, didn’t protect the football and appeared to begin celebrating before reaching the goal line. And in swooped Bucs safety Antoine Winfield jersey to strip the ball away.
Game officials signaled a touchdown and the score, as mandated by the NFL, was reviewed by replay officials. But there was no across-the-goal-line angle to be reviewed, so the Bucs and FOX broadcasters were told.
The play stood, despite other camera angles that appeared, inconclusively, to show Pitts fumbled before reaching the end zone.
Enter Sean Barie of FOX-13 TV based in Tampa. He shot video of the play from about the 1 yard line and released the footage.
It’s below on X and any good freeze-framer can see Pitts fumbled with the ball behind his left buttock, which was not in the end zone. At the time of the fumble, Pitts’ left foot was in the field of play and his right foot was on the goal line..
It’s all below… and it’s all very sad.
As Joe has written a few times already, the NFL should be embarrassed. A cross-the-goal-line camera should be rolling on every play. If you’re going to have instant replay, what angle could be more important than one that determines scoring?
I was set up at about the 1.5 yard line during Kyle Pitts’ controversial second touchdown.
So here’s my view of it. I tried to focus into when I believe the ball started to come out. The more I watch this, the more I think the refs got the call of TD wrong. @FOX13News pic.twitter.com/2kbBhM1Ask
— Sean Barie FOX 13 (@SeanBarieTV) October 27, 2024
October 28th, 2024 at 3:26 pm
The NFL owes the Bucs 2 wins. Plus I still haven’t forgotten about the Lions in 2010
October 28th, 2024 at 3:28 pm
Bad call…. But wide open receivers worse defense…
October 28th, 2024 at 3:30 pm
not as significant but bucs also got hosed on another facemask while graham barton got called for holding. what are the chances that the same thing happens in the same season in different games against the same team?
October 28th, 2024 at 3:33 pm
I would feel bad but when the receivers are WIIIIIIIIIIIDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE OPEN all over the field what do you expect?
Not blaming the NFL, just blaming Todd Blows for awful pass defensive scheme year in and year out
October 28th, 2024 at 3:36 pm
No big deal. Just the difference in the game. Unreal
October 28th, 2024 at 3:36 pm
Wake up folks ! Who did the mainstream media pick to win the NFC South ? Atlanta.
October 28th, 2024 at 3:37 pm
I’m sure Licht and Glazers got in the NFL’s face about this. Now it’s time to move on. The Bucs, especially the players and coaches, don’t need any more excuses. They just need to be better.
October 28th, 2024 at 3:38 pm
The Bucs defense played like crap yesterday but Winfield made a GREAT play which should have taken away that TD.
I’m getting really tired of the officials influencing the game in such a major way because of their horrible calls. It was the most important defensive play of the game for the Bucs and the officials F…’ed it up.
I don’t recall ever seeing a situation like that in recent years where a play needed to be reviewed at the goal line but there was no camera there. WTF!?
The officials are responsible for reviewing scoring plays. It makes zero sense that there would be no camera there in which to do so.
October 28th, 2024 at 3:39 pm
Bucfanforever: I haven’t forgot about the refs costing us a Super Bowl ring as well in 1999. The Bert Emmanuel rule! No way anyone else besides The Greatest Show on Turf was going to win a SB that year. The refs and league made sure of it.
October 28th, 2024 at 3:44 pm
Joe, I don’t know if you’ve seen but Mike Florio and Chris Simms both thought it was a fumble too
October 28th, 2024 at 3:47 pm
JimBobBuc Says:
I’m sure Licht and Glazers got in the NFL’s face about this. Now it’s time to move on. The Bucs, especially the players and coaches, don’t need any more excuses. They just need to be better.
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No doubt the Bucs need to be MUCH better. But in both seasons the Bucs won the SuperBowl the team did not look like a championship team during the first half of the seasons. Sometimes they played bad but still won some games. By the end of both of those seasons though they fixed the issues they needed to fix and peaked at the right time, and went the distance.
But when you have to beat both the other team AND the officials that’s not how the league is supposed to be.
The officials could have looked at the video shot by Fox 13 TV. Why didn’t they?
October 28th, 2024 at 3:47 pm
Vegas called
October 28th, 2024 at 3:48 pm
No Excuses. Even if he did, Bucs deserved to lose that game. We had our chances and we performed poorly. You get what you deserve on Sundays. And we deserved to lose with that no Defense. As we will against the Chiefs. Fire Todd Bowles now!!
October 28th, 2024 at 3:50 pm
Robbed! But also he was wide-arse open as y’all like to say
October 28th, 2024 at 3:55 pm
I may be wrong but my expectations are that the NFL’s response will be something like this ;
“There was an error made and we will work hard to see that it doesn’t happen again.”
October 28th, 2024 at 3:57 pm
I guess the Falcons are America’s NEW team. This isn’t the first, second or even third call that has gone their way. There is a fine line between lucky and straight up help winning games. Some very crazy calls going against the Bucs as well. Not a conspiracy theory but some things don’t pass a simple eye test.
October 28th, 2024 at 4:00 pm
Are you kidding me? “They didn’t deserve to win.” What kind of logic is that? Every week teams win with poorer stats than their opponents. KC is 7-0 and have been outstatted in four games.
October 28th, 2024 at 4:00 pm
I don’t think Pitts being wide open matters. What matters is the play 40 yards down the field after the catch that matters. AW31 did it again although the play was CLOSE. The ref did probably ruled it a TD because how close it was and he thought they’d have a better angle on replay to confirm. They didn’t and that’s a big failure on the NFL’s part. No question about it.
October 28th, 2024 at 4:01 pm
I do agree with the fact that if you consistently play like crap there is no way you get the calls anyway. I was here in 85’ and we sucked until 99’. We didn’t get many calls then either
October 28th, 2024 at 4:07 pm
I said this yesterday in the game thread. It was an easy call even without a Goal Line Camera….. his leg was not over the goad line the ball is loose right beside his leg…. This is either a corrupt league or an Incompentant one or both. Either way it is not acceptable, especially when people are betting so much money.
October 28th, 2024 at 4:08 pm
I said this yesterday in the game thread. It was an easy call even without a Goal Line Camera….. his leg was not over the goad line the ball is loose right beside his leg…. This is either a corrupt league or an Incompentant one or both. Either way it is not acceptable, especially when people are betting so much money. What does the great commissioner have to say?
October 28th, 2024 at 4:10 pm
Loser mentality. There were 100 other plays in that game. This isn’t something like a flagrantly wrong pass interference. We are talking about a fraction of an inch from a guy wide open running alone through the secondary for half a mile.
October 28th, 2024 at 4:16 pm
First, I was incredulous that there wasn’t any good camera view. Now I know why. It seems the powers that be determined who wins depending on the money.
October 28th, 2024 at 4:17 pm
When I first watched this on Sunday I thought it was a fumble. Refs got it wrong shocker. So we should have won the game. As far as the 2010 Lions game I remember watching that game and that call screwed us from going to the playoffs that season.
October 28th, 2024 at 4:19 pm
Did you notice that Rah took him out the game for the next series, so he knew. As much as the defense failed, second half, really shut them out and Zyon pretty much shut down Drake.
October 28th, 2024 at 4:21 pm
That 2010 game allowed for the packers to make the playoffs and Aaron Rogers has been living on the SB win that year his entire career. They should not have even made the playoffs.
October 28th, 2024 at 4:22 pm
Fred McNeil Says:
First, I was incredulous that there wasn’t any good camera view. Now I know why. It seems the powers that be determined who wins depending on the money.
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@Fred, Your conclusion is the only one that makes sense to me.
The most important place in the entire stadium to place a camera is along the goal line and that is the only place lacking a camera. That’s something any Fifth Grader should easily understand.
October 28th, 2024 at 4:24 pm
LET IT GO!!! Atlanta would have just gone down and scored again y’all sound pathetic.
Why doesn’t somebody address the elephant in the room BAKER IS TIED FOR THE LEAGUE LEAD IN INTERCEPTIONS. Where’s that story, maybe that’s why the Bucs lost the game
October 28th, 2024 at 4:25 pm
Sickened after seeing that freeze frame. We all knew it. The Bucs actually won the game and the Falcons and refs know it. Olsen going wild over Cousins. Who isn’t all that either. I really think the NFL has a script.
October 28th, 2024 at 4:26 pm
It is ridiculous that there was no goal line camera view.
Almost as ridiculous as the Bucs defensive coverage on that play.
October 28th, 2024 at 4:30 pm
Im sorry but I dont think it would have mattered Cousins would have just made up for it later because our secondary and D coach don’t learn from the past.
October 28th, 2024 at 4:31 pm
Not that the Bucs would have won otherwise because their season is in a Maverick style jet wash but that was a hell of a defensive play which should have been recognized and wasn’t
October 28th, 2024 at 4:36 pm
I don’t blame the officials for this. They made the call the way they saw it. The problem is that yes there should be a camera with down the goal line views from both sides for every game for reviews. Or perhaps use something like goal line technology for soccer. This is on the league that makes billions and somehow doesn’t have cameras
October 28th, 2024 at 4:41 pm
That’s pretty much the way it looked on the fox broadcast too! Let’s face it …Atlanta is a bigger viewing market for the NFL. Does the NFL make more money wih Atlanta in the playoffs or Tampa? After two games, head to head, at least two major bad calls and some missed face mask calls that even the Fox telecasters noticed and reported, we get two Tampa losses and two Atlanta wins. Happy Holloween!
October 28th, 2024 at 4:42 pm
League should come up with a new rule. If a bad call by the NFL resulted in a team loss and it can be proven it was an incorrect call, the NFL must award a minimum of a 3rd round compensatory pick to that team.
October 28th, 2024 at 4:42 pm
Let’s get some real news….Bowles been fired yet?
October 28th, 2024 at 4:49 pm
NFL chose the falcons this year
October 28th, 2024 at 4:50 pm
Legal, widespread gambling is the reason this is happening. Games are fixed. Before Joe writes that there has always been gambling and fixed games I will point out that it’s a heck of a lot easier now. Never thought I’d see the day that the NFL was in bed with gambling.
October 28th, 2024 at 4:52 pm
Mike that’s not a terrible idea. The only problem I see with it is determining if the call was consequential enough to change the outcome of the game.
October 28th, 2024 at 4:55 pm
I guess JL can put this tidbit of info in his receipt bag and when the season is over he can try cashing in his green stamps once the shop is closed and it’s too late. God forbid, he does anything proactive like get an OLB, ILB, WR… Do you ever notice how Licht goes into hiding during these Slides? Never holding Bowles accountable, or addressing the problem publicly or personnel-wise. Imo, TB’s defense was beyond suspect after the Texans game last year
October 28th, 2024 at 4:58 pm
One play doesnt decide a game. We cant stop anyone. PERIOD. Bucs absolutely SUCK defensively. How does a one-legged old QB coming off achilles injury who can NOT drive the ball at all SCORCH the Bucs for 800 yards and 9 scores in 2 games? How does that happen? I know everyone is crying about no Evans or CG but last I checked they dont play defense. This is like MIKE SMITH BAD!
We will see what happens Monday, playing a Chiefs passing game that has struggled all season. Watch Mahomes shred the Bowles Bucs defense for 300+ and at least three TD passes.
October 28th, 2024 at 5:01 pm
So the league office will write a letter Wednesday to the Bucs apologizing for the mistake. It will come with another letter agreeing the Roquan Smith tackle was illegal and the Ravens should have been penalized. Both will come in one envelope to save the league the extra stamp. It won’t matter anyway. The outcome will stay the same.
October 28th, 2024 at 5:03 pm
@Pewter Power yes BM has the most INT but he also has the most TDs. There are only three QBs have a better TD to INT ratio than BM.
October 28th, 2024 at 5:05 pm
Yup – freeze it right between 0:14 and 0:15 in that video.
Ball is clearly out.
Ball is clearly behind is left foot.
Left foot is clearly behind the line of the endzone.
October 28th, 2024 at 5:05 pm
@SBucs – 1000%
October 28th, 2024 at 5:05 pm
Bucs actually let Kirk Cousins SCRAMBLE 13 yards for a first down! That was much more embarrassing than anything you could accuse the league of
October 28th, 2024 at 5:07 pm
Has Bowles been fired yet?
October 28th, 2024 at 5:09 pm
Doesn’t matter no one in the NFL cares. Remember when the ref came over to get a drink on the Bucs sideline and Sapp was so pissed off about the refs calls that he flipped the whole table of drinks over. Every player and coach should be giving the refs constant verbal harassment. The fix is in, there was no need for a goal line camera, everyone saw it on the tv replay.
October 28th, 2024 at 5:11 pm
this is a outrage!
October 28th, 2024 at 5:16 pm
Was that even real man ??
October 28th, 2024 at 5:26 pm
Just for the sheer effort on Winfields part to jar ball loose for second time in two years against same team should have refs questioning the call and over turning it! Huge miss call…again
October 28th, 2024 at 5:56 pm
SBucs – You are correct. That is about it. They get a slap on the hand. Shame on the NFL.
October 28th, 2024 at 6:01 pm
@Bucfanforever Detroit in 2010 would’ve changed nfl history if we got that call. Rodgers would have no Superbowls.
October 28th, 2024 at 6:11 pm
Pewter Power … ‘Why doesn’t somebody address the elephant in the room BAKER IS TIED FOR THE LEAGUE LEAD IN INTERCEPTIONS. Where’s that story, maybe that’s why the Bucs lost the game’.
There’s no question that turnovers have played a huge role in our losses. We’ve got a formidable offense (ranked #4) that ranks high in every category EXCEPT (1) Turnovers (#24); (2) Interceptions (#26); and (3) Rushing Attempts (#22). Obviously our defense is struggling, but the Turnovers against quality teams have proven to be our undoing.
In our 4 wins, Bucs have made only 4 Turnovers (and 3 of those came in our win over the Saints). So in 3 wins (Commanders, Lions, Eagles) we only made ONE Turnover. And in that Saints game, our defense forced 3 Turnovers, so the Turnover Differential was ZERO. IOW, we didn’t beat ourselves.
In our 4 losses, Bucs have made 8 Turnovers, and our defense only forced 3 Turnovers (we forced 7 Turnovers in our 4 wins). In 3 losses we lost the Turnover Differential, and in the 4th loss we tied in the Turnover Differential. IOW, we beat ourselves.
The other strange stat is Rushing Attempts (we rank #22 in Attempts, yet we rank #10 in Rushing Yardage). The question comes in … ‘If we’re doing good running the ball (5.1 YPC), why aren’t we running MORE?’ In our first 4 games (when our running game was just improving), Bucs ran at a 39.5% run-pass ratio … we won 3 of those. In our next 4 games (when our running game really started rolling), we ran at a 41.4% run-pass ratio … slightly higher but still relatively low compared to most teams. Overall on the season, we’re only running at a 40.5% run-pass ratio. MAYBE using the run more will open up the passing game more & lead to fewer INTs.
October 28th, 2024 at 6:27 pm
Watch this will be like the Burt Emanuell rule. They will change the rules next year and have cameras but sorry bucs for the bad call.
October 28th, 2024 at 6:28 pm
I was sitting there at the game also & I even said right when it happened that I thought Antoine might of knocked it out before. But what do the fans know. Obviously the fans know nothing.
October 28th, 2024 at 6:28 pm
Yeah i knew there “wasnt” a camera as soon as I saw it. Billion dollar league and has literally screwed the Bucs twice minimally this season if I’m the owner I’m pissed…
October 28th, 2024 at 6:35 pm
I wouldn’t be too concerned here. I’m sure the NFL will give the chiefs a couple more tuddies this week in addition to what they’ve done to Tampa already.
And Tampa will respond by leaving their best threat on the bench. Happy Halloween everyone!
October 28th, 2024 at 6:51 pm
It’s long over now, so I really don’t care. With that said, I think the play was pretty damm obvious that he fumbled the ball first, BEFORE crossing the end zone… You could put the 2-3 different videos/angles together, & then determine this. Fairly easily, too… Hell, it was easy to SEE. The refs and upstairs just didn’t have the GUTS to overturn it… They barely, even looked at it. I’ve seen them spend 10X as much time on obvious little BS calls that weren’t even SCORING PLAYS. And, with that said, the ‘call’ (if not for such incompetence) SHOULD’VE been SEEN and called CORRECTLY, on the damm FIELD, to begin with!!!! Also, HOW do you NOT have a ‘pile-on’ cam in the first place, in an NFL GAME!? I mean SERIOUSLY, are they that damm CHEAP!?
October 28th, 2024 at 7:12 pm
bad monday…geez…
the league owes us one next monday night…!
also tommy b’s ex is having a kid with joey jujitsu…and supposedly has been prego for a while…
geez…geez…and geez
October 28th, 2024 at 7:13 pm
Vegas had it out for trey palmer yesterday who runs routes all day for 2 catches but I understands vegas,fanduel, mgm and draft kings gotta eat too.
October 28th, 2024 at 7:20 pm
“rrsrq” – he was takin outta the game because HE LOAFED. He let up a intentionally (kinda in a ‘taunting’ way), & relaxed. It wouldn’t have mattered WHAT the outcome ended up being, he was getting an EAR FULL, & a lesson learned. And, you’re right “Bucnjim” – It’s the REFS, who couldn’t pass a simple eye test.
October 28th, 2024 at 7:33 pm
This is just something to make you feel better about having one of the worst Defenses in the NFL. How in the hell do you expect to win a game and you cannot stop anybody? Like I’ve said hundreds of times here..Bucs can score 40. But we refuse to stop the other team from scoring 41. Thats our problem. Not some missed call. We lost. Get ready for the Chiefs. Or that game can be even worse.
October 28th, 2024 at 7:38 pm
Of course it was a bad call, but what was worse was ATL receivers wide open on virtually every passing down. Saw the same thing in ATL game 1. If there would be a game 3 with ATL, I think it is a safe prediction that there would be more of the same. Cousins has 11 TD’s this season and 8 have come against Tampa. The last TD, a flair pass to a back from 10 yards out, the back wasn’t touched. He walked into the end zone. Looked like flag football.
October 28th, 2024 at 8:07 pm
GAME CHANGER !! Just like the terrible holding call against Wirfs which took away a touchdown!
The NFL refs have to get crucial calls like this right ! No matter what it takes !!
October 28th, 2024 at 8:19 pm
But then if he fumbled and the Bucs won then you’d put bowles in the hall of fame. Let’s just say the Bucs sucked and didn’t deserve to win. On to the next one.
October 28th, 2024 at 8:24 pm
This is nothing compared to the BS that was the non-face mask AND holding call vs the Bucs @ Atlanta that literally, 100%, changed the outcome of the game.
This is BS, but you also have no idea how the rest of the game plays out. But in Atlanta, the game was over if they make the call, OR even if they did offsetting calls (there was no hold), run time off the clock rerunning the play and the Bucs are still in FG range.
That call in Atlanta was way worse than the missed facemask the Vikings got screwed with, they still had to go 98 yards and get a 2 point conversation in a minute just to tie the game. The Bucs game, however, was over if they make the call on the blatant face mask that happened right in front of the refs.
October 28th, 2024 at 8:25 pm
If we beat the teams bad enough so stop letting opposing teams score at will we wouldn’t have these close games.
October 28th, 2024 at 8:40 pm
Won’t even get an oops sorry from the crooked nfl
October 28th, 2024 at 8:44 pm
For everyone saying the bucs deserved to lose because of terrible secondary…2 separate issues…yes our defense sucks but so did the officiating…2 wrongs don’t make a right
October 28th, 2024 at 8:55 pm
Your 1000% right Munch the refs have not been good this year and not just in the Bucs games…
October 28th, 2024 at 9:02 pm
By the way, they’d already fined Roquan Smith for that ‘illegal’ hit on Godwin… They released it like, late on a Friday afternoon (I think), when no one was looking, or paying any attention.
October 28th, 2024 at 9:04 pm
This nfl crap is bs time to goto basketball
October 28th, 2024 at 9:10 pm
we cant catch a break this year
October 28th, 2024 at 10:16 pm
Things aren’t going our way this season that is for sure. I’m enough of a conspiracy theorist to believe part of that is due to the NFL and media crowning the Falcons and confirming their bias any chance they get.
It is absolutely absurd with the money the NFL has that they run so many mediocre to extremely poor operations, and cameras/camera work is one of them.
October 28th, 2024 at 10:32 pm
A loser head coach invites blaming injuries and the referees. Even the GM.
There’s no hiding from it. Face it folks. Ya can’t fix stubborn.
October 28th, 2024 at 11:38 pm
The fix was in. Goodell, Vegas, Hollywood all want a Chiefs repeat and the script for this year has the Falcons winning the South so the Bucs have to lose no matter what needs to be done.
October 29th, 2024 at 3:35 am
That’s a clear fumble….
October 29th, 2024 at 7:32 am
Had it been a ‘premier match up’ there would have been more cameras..
As far as this view there was one official even closer to the goal line and Winfield got the strip as Pitt’s arm was coming back. A split second earlier his arm was farther forward and the tip of the football was in Pitts’ hand. Once the tip of the football breaks the plane the play is over even if the ball comes back out.
Players extend the ball across the line and their bodies are two feet from the goal line.
It was a bang bang play and the ref may or may have got it right.
Was ruled a TD and could not be challenged. Had it rolled out at the one Falcons could have challenged and lost due to not enough evidence to overturn it.
Even with a pylon camera the tip of the ball would have been concealed and their would have not been enough evidence to overturn it in this case.
Plenty of other plays made the difference in this game so stop crying over spilt milk and treating this like the grass knoll.
October 29th, 2024 at 8:36 am
#TwanTheGoalLineKeeper 🙂
October 29th, 2024 at 8:44 am
Looking for how many calls get overturned this is what came up.
According to available data, the majority of NFL calls reviewed by instant replay are not overturned due to the lack of “incontrovertible visual evidence” needed to reverse the on-field call, meaning most calls stand as originally made even when reviewed.
Looks like the Bucs have a better chance of making the playoffs @ 48% than that call getting overturned. Something to be positive about.
October 29th, 2024 at 10:03 am
WHEN THE REFEREES MAKE MISTAKES AND THEY ADD UP TO SO MANEY , THEY SHOULD BE FINE AND PLACED ON ONE MONTH SUSPENTION
WITH NO PAY !!!
October 29th, 2024 at 10:32 am
Regarding Winfield, that was super impressive. Never seen a strip move like that one before. Win essentially did a backstroke, while running full speed, to strip the ball. Impressive!
As for the refs/replays…whatever! You all got it wrong. Fix it going forward!!