Here's why Kyle Pitts gave up on endzone throw from Kirk Cousins

Kyle Pitts has not been on the good side of many fans for a while now. He has failed to show up over the past two years and has seemingly shown little-to-no hustle on routes.

In Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers, that notion only got worse when Kirk Cousins threw him a pass on third down that fell incomplete because the tight end failed to finish the play.

However, while it isn't a good excuse, Pitts thought the play was or would be blown dead because of a missed delay of game on Atlanta. The play clock clearly hit zero and Pitts thought the play was over.

Nevertheless, any coach will tell you to play to the whistle. Delay of game penalties have their own delay on the field. Refs often give an extra tick after it hits zero, thus you cannot stop playing because you think it is a delay penalty.

Kyle Pitts must improve his effort moving forward

There is no way around it, stopping your route, no matter the situation, is a bad look. Kyle Pitts has to keep on his route because his lack of effort could have been game-changing if a defender had tracked that Cousins pass down.

We have seen some casual routes this past year after recovering from his knee injury. He hasn't always played the hardest, that much is for sure.

That said, he still wants to be productive in this league. I don't believe he is a George Pickens-type player; he just needs to clean a few things up.

And one final note, the action of the play was supposed to be on the other side of the field where the bunch formation was. But that also isn't an excuse that will get him off the hook.