Passing Attempts
Josh Allen QB BUF - Has anyone fully noticed what Allen has been doing this season? He’s having a serious breakout campaign and in Week 3 that really extended to the Red Zone. He’s been in this report before for sheer volume, but this week it was efficiency and volume that gets him noticed. He had nine pass attempts inside the 20 with four of those coming inside the five and three of the nine went for touchdowns. He also carried the ball five times on the ground, with also four of those inside the five, and converted one for a rushing touchdown. So 14 total touches with four total touchdowns. If the Bills’ offense keeps humming like this, it’ll be tough to stop.
Nick Foles QB CHI - Foles came in to replace a struggling, to put it nicely, Mitch Trubisky and the swap did wonders for the Bears offense. In just four more snaps than Trubisky played on Sunday, Foles put up seven Red Zone pass attempts with four inside the 10. That total gives Foles nearly half as many as Trubisky on the season (7-to-16) but Foles only played about a half of football compared to 2.5 games for Trubisky. While both had one passing touchdown each, the offense clearly worked better under Foles and he’ll be the starter going forward so expect the Bears’ weapons to benefit from that more as well.
Aaron Rodgers QB GB - Rodgers isn’t a stranger to the Red Zone reports but what makes this week impressive was the circumstances. He went on the road to New Orleans, a team that is usually very hard to play at home and has a fairly stingy pass defense and he didn’t have his top receiving threat in Davante Adams . Yet Rodgers still put up seven Red Zone pass attempts with four inside the five and three of the attempts were touchdown passes. The Packers have posted no less than 37 points in each of the first three games and now with Adams likely to come back for Week 4 and facing the Falcons, expect plenty more Red Zone success from Rodgers and company.
Patrick Mahomes QB KC - It was a great night for the Chiefs in Baltimore but aside from all of the big plays and highlight reel material, Mahomes had seven total touches in the red zone3, six passes and a rush, and turned those into four touchdowns. The big plays get all of the attention with this offense to be sure but his efficiency inside the 20 is remarkable and what makes him especially dangerous to opposing defenses. He didn’t just hit one target as he spread the ball around pretty evenly and that also makes him very dangerous to opposing defenses as there’s not just one weapon to try and eliminate from the game plan.
Tom Brady QB TB - Brady finally had a week where he looked comfortable in the offense and had the most Red Zone passing attempts of any game so far with eight. He passed for three touchdowns as well and spread the ball to several different targets inside the 20. As Brady continues to get better in the offense or molding the offense around his game, the performances will continue to get stronger and the Red Zone offense more efficient.
Rushing Attempts
Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt RB CLE - It’s starting to become clear how the Browns want to run their offense when they get to the Red Zone and that is through the running backs. Chubb and Hunt combined for 12 touches inside the 20 with Hunt getting seven of those rushing and he also caught a Red Zone touchdown. Chubb meanwhile carried five times and had two rushing touchdowns. On the season the two have split Red Zone touches fairly evenly with Chubb leading the way with 12 but Hunt has 11 and has the edge in receiving targets.
Darrell Henderson RB LAR - The Rams’ backfield has been a bit of a revolving door this year but in the Red Zone the last few weeks, it’s been Henderson getting the work more often than not. In Week 3, he carried it six times with half of those inside the five and one of them was a touchdown. Through the first three games, Henderson leads the Rams in Red Zone carries with 10 so if you’re looking for the touchdown threat from the L.A. backfield, Henderson could be the guy.
Myles Gaskin RB MIA - Gaskin has been the lead back for the Dolphins for the past couple of games but in Week 3 the Red Zone work jumped up for him. The nine total carries he had inside the 20 in Week 3 is nearly more than the total other carries for all running backs for the Dolphins through the first three games. Gaskin didn’t snag a touchdown though as Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jordan Howard each had one on the ground in the Red Zone but he did a lot of the work to get closer to the goal line. If you’re in need of a running back at this point, Gaskin could be the best option on the free agent market.
Rex Burkhead RB NE - The absence of James White , for very sad reasons, has been good for Burkhead as he’s been the main receiving threat out of the backfield for the Patriots in his absence. In Week 3 Burkhead had four rushes for two Red Zone scores and then caught a pass for a score too. Now that James White is expected to be back for Week 4, Burkhead’s role will likely be smaller but it’s also possible that they ease White back in and let Burkhead still have the bulk of the role.
Jeff Wilson RB SF - The beaten up Niners used a makeshift backfield to beat up on the Giants and Wilson was the biggest beneficiary of it with five Red Zone carries, a rushing touchdown, two Red Zone catches and a receiving score. Jerick McKinnon also saw three carries and a score and as long as Raheem Mostert is out injured, expect those two to keep sharing the Red Zone work and in Week 4 they face a banged up Eagles defense at home.
Receiving Targets
Tyler Kroft TE BUF - The biggest beneficiary of Allen’s big day inside the 20 was Kroft and his four targets. He turned all of those targets into catches and two of them for scores. His four targets in Week 3 ties him for the team lead at this point with Stefon Diggs and gives him more targets on the year than the other two TEs combined. Allen is likely to continue to target Kroft in the tighter windows of the Red Zone but the upcoming opponent, Las Vegas, has only allowed two of the eight touchdowns allowed to go to players other than the running back.
Jimmy Graham TE CHI - After being shut out of the Red Zone last week, Graham made a return to that part of the field in Week 3 with four targets of which he caught two each for a touchdown. So he did catch a touchdown from both quarterbacks but the bulk of his targets came from Foles. Graham is also the leading Red Zone target on the Bears, by a wide margin and the change in quarterbacks should only continue to help him.
Tee Higgins WR CIN - Higgins is now the third-most targeted receiver on Cincinnati but, maybe surprisingly, he’s now the most-targeted Red Zone target for Joe Burrow with four on the season. The three targets in Week 3 resulted in two touchdowns for him and that’s also made him shoot up the waiver claims listings this past week as well. While A.J. Green and Tyler Boyd get all the attention, it allows Higgins to fly a bit under the radar and he may be able to keep producing decently well in the Red Zone though we don’t expect him to see this much production in a week for a while.
Keenan Allen WR LAC - Allen has shown improvements in catches and targets each of the first three weeks of the season and now the Red Zone work has improved as well. He saw four targets in Week 3 inside the 20 and caught two of them including one for a touchdown. Allen is the top target for Justin Herbert to throw to and that extends to the Red Zone as well as Allen remains a top wide receiver play each week.
Mike Evans WR TB - Evans and Brady were on the same page in Week 3 as he hauled in two Red Zone targets and caught both for two scores. He is tied with Chris Godwin for the team lead in targets inside the 20 and the big bodied receiver should be a favorite for Brady going forward as Brady loves the big wide receivers near the goal line.
Red Zone Defense
Houston Texans - Houston’s defense was a bit overlooked in the beginning of the season as they have been a mediocre unit the last couple of years but this year is a different story. They are one of only six teams to allow opponents to score less than 50-percent of the time in the Red Zone so far this year. The Texans have only allowed six touchdowns in three games in 13 trips to the 20-yard line.
San Francisco 49ers - The 49ers might be banged up right now, but they are still a formidable defense in the Red Zone and have only allowed four total trips to the 20 in three games. They get the hurting Eagles offense coming to them this week and so don’t expect a whole lot more trips made against them in Week 4.