Buccaneers: Tom Brady creates best red zone combo in the NFL

While the gold standard for success in the NFL red zone throughout the past few years has been the combination of Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams, the Buccaneers have created a duo arguably even more lethal. Tom Brady and Mike Evans had a multitude of success last year, but it was obvious that the chemistry wasn’t like it is now.

This was probably due to a variety of factors. One being the lack of a preseason, which didn’t allow for them to build any rapport before the season began. Additionally, even with the plethora of talent that Buccaneers have with their receiver core, Evans is typically singled out and double-teamed. This means that Evans typically has to be thrown open or make a great play, either option takes a great deal of faith from your QB, which takes time to manifest, even for Brady.

Considering all that, it’s no shock that the duo’s sophomore outing has seen them emerge as one of, if not the best, QB-receiver duo in the NFL, especially in the red zone. The emphasis on red zone efficiency has been accentuated even more so by the absence of tight end Rob Gronkowski as he recovers from injuries, who is typically the favorite red zone option for Brady.

After their dominant victory over the Bears in week 7, Evans now has 7 receiving touchdowns, only two shy of the league leader, Cooper Kupp who is having a massive year himself that deserves some credit. The success of Evans shouldn’t be particularly shocking as Evans is a massive target with excellent intuition that allows Brady to use called routes or improvise in the red zone to equally deadly effects. If those talents weren’t enough, Evans is also incredibly physical and tough, which forces opposing teams to need more than one player to bring him down, making him an even more dangerous threat in the red zone.

With Evans and Brady’s chemistry being as great as it is this season, it would seem to be only a matter of time until Evans overtakes Kupp as the league leader in touchdowns with Tampa’s current red zone efficiency.