Mike Evans

Brady swapped the New England Patriots for the Buccaneers via NFL free agency following 20 seasons in Foxborough, where he won six Super Bowl championships.

The 43-year-old quarterback and three-time MVP is already making an impact in Tampa Bay, where he has impressed Evans.

"He's the GOAT, on and off the field. It's crazy. He's a superstar – the most accomplished player in our game in history, and he's just like everybody else," Evans said on Tuesday.

"He just works extremely hard, he's always taking care of his body. He loves his family. He loves family time. He's just cool. He's a real down-to-earth guy.

"He's already up there as one of my favourite team-mates, and we've only had a few practices together. So that says a lot. I'm learning a lot from him and hopefully we can tear it up this year."

Evans – a three-time Pro Bowler – is on the cusp of his seventh successive 1,000-yard season to start his career in the NFL.

The 26-year-old made 13 appearances last season, tallying 1,157 yards for eight touchdowns.

"It's cool. He's trying to turn me into a living legend as well, so I'm appreciative of that," Evans said of Brady.

The Buccaneers will open their season against the New Orleans Saints on September 13.

From offensive line injuries to an inconsistent pass rush and the questionable decision-making of head coach Todd Bowles in his first year in the job, the Buccaneers have had to deal with both misfortune and a host of self-inflicted problems.

Yet the most bemusing issue in what can at best be described as an up-and-down season for Tom Brady following his about-face on his initial offseason decision to retire has been his lack of a rapport with Mike Evans.

Sideline frustration between Brady and Evans has been a common theme for Tampa Bay in 2022, with the latter's struggles seeing him go 11 games without scoring a receiving touchdown.

That frustration was alleviated emphatically on Sunday as Evans exploded for a hat-trick of touchdowns in helping the Buccaneers overturn a 21-10 deficit against the Carolina Panthers and clinch the NFC South with a 30-24 victory at Raymond James Stadium.

Evans caught deep shots of 63, 57 and 30 yards from Brady as he destroyed an injury-hit Panthers secondary.

He created a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup on a play where he is targeted, on eight of his 12 targets in a performance that saw him rack up 207 receiving yards. Evans averaged 17.25 burn yards per target, trailing only Christian Watson and Davante Adams among wideouts with at least five targets in Week 17 as of Sunday.

It was belated reward for a season in which Evans, despite consistently appearing out of sync with Brady, he has excelled at getting open. Indeed, heading into Week 17, Evans led the NFL in combined open percentage (56.47) in matchups against man and zone coverage (min. 100 matchups).

His first deep touchdown reception saw Evans surpass 1,000 receiving yards for the season. It is his ninth successive 1,000-yard campaign, tying Tim Brown for the second-longest such streak in NFL history. Only San Francisco 49ers legend Jerry Rice (11) can claim to have more consecutive four-figure receiving seasons.

Evans' own record for the most successive 1,000-yard receiving seasons to start a career was also extended, but more important than his individual milestones is the confidence his treble could give both him and Brady as they prepare for the postseason.

The Buccaneers have had precious little on which to rely on the offensive side of the ball, save for their performance when going no-huddle and Brady's ability to lead comebacks in the fourth quarter.

Brady has a career-high five game-winning drives this season and four fourth-quarter comebacks, a tally that is one shy of his career-high in that respect.

But the rekindling of Brady's connection with Evans gives Tampa Bay something to lean on, a route to explosive plays that will be all the more critical in the postseason.

A narrow win over the Panthers won't do much to change perceptions that the Bucs are a team well short of being able to compete for a Super Bowl. However, Brady and Evans connecting consistently downfield improves the odds of them at least doing damage in the playoffs, especially in a possible first-round matchup with a volatile and vulnerable Dallas Cowboys secondary.

It's likely to be the final year of the Brady-Evans partnership in Tampa, one that has resulted in 32 touchdowns since the quarterback left the New England Patriots to head to the Buccaneers.

Though it remains a long shot that Brady's expected swansong with the Bucs will result in a second title in three seasons, his farewell may be extended a few weeks longer than many anticipated if he and Evans can deliver a few more demonstrations of the rapport that had previously made this offense so devastating.

Evans has been compared to Hall of Famer Randy Moss, with the pair the only wide receivers in NFL history to reach 1,000 receiving yards in each of their first six seasons.

A three-time Pro Bowler, Evans caught seven passes for 104 yards and a touchdown as the Buccaneers topped the Carolina Panthers 31-17 last week, having struggled to connect with Brady in the team's opener.

Legendary quarterback Brady paid Evans the ultimate compliment as he likened the 27-year-old to former New England Patriots star Moss, telling reporters on Thursday: "From a physical standpoint – both [have] big bodies, big catch radiuses and great body control. [They have] great understanding of the game – feel, instincts, [etc.].

"Randy is a Hall of Famer. I think Mike is going to be one too and it's been amazing to play with him. I love playing with Mike. He's been just spectacular from the day I met him. I admired him from afar for a long time.

"I'm just blessed to play with him and Chris [Godwin with] what he's accomplished in his short time in the NFL. I think those two guys really lead the charge for our receivers and they're great mentors for the young players we have.

"We're just going to keep working hard every day to try and be on the same page more and more."

The Buccaneers, who face the Denver Broncos in Week 3, have multiple running backs in their rotation.

On Tampa Bay's depth, six-time Super Bowl champion Brady said: "You can't strain any one position too much. You're going to have situations over the course of the year where guys get worn down or guys tweak something and they're not in there as much.

"Guys are going to have to fill a role and they're going to have to do it well. Having depth at these positions that are so important to our offense – everyone is going to play a critical role. We're really deep at receiver [then] all of the sudden, Chris [Godwin] doesn't play, Mike [Evans] is out for a play, J-Wat [Justin Watson] gets banged up in the game – next thing you know, it's like, 'All right, what happened to the depth?' It just goes quickly. That's just part of football. Every team is dealing with it. Denver [have] injuries – they've got to adjust. We've got injuries – we've got to adjust. It's a contact sport.

"Everyone is not going to be there every single day [or] every game – it's just not the reality. You've got to work with everybody [and] you've got to have enough communication with everybody. Everybody plays a vital role and I think when you can gain confidence in the players – they may think they're in a backup role, but once the game starts, they're in a featured role – those guys have to take advantage of those opportunities.

"That's how I got my start. I look at it like, no one ever thought of me in 2001. I thought I was third-string quarterback going into training camp. Two weeks into the year, I'm the starting quarterback. You've got to take advantage of your opportunity because you don't know when you're going to get it. I try to stress that to the young players. Every day in practice you've got a chance to make an impression on a player [or] on coach and build trust in your teammates, so that when you get the opportunity, you go and take advantage of it and you never look back."

Brady, 43, has led the Buccaneers into their first NFC Championship Game since the 2002 season and Tampa Bay face the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

The Buccaneers finished last season 7-9 and now are a win away from the Super Bowl, but Evans is unsurprised Brady has had such a big impact.

"He's the greatest player to ever play the game. You add him on any roster and I'm sure the outcome would be somewhat like this," the wide receiver told a news conference.

"He always gets his teams to the playoffs. He's a winner, he's a natural-born winner, leader, all that.

"At this point in his career he's just playing chess and we're definitely very happy that he's on our side."

The Buccaneers were 6-2 on the road during the regular season and they have beaten the Washington Football Team and New Orleans Saints away from home in the playoffs.

While Super Bowl LV will be played at their Raymond James Stadium, they must first beat a Packers outfit that are 8-1 at Lambeau Field this season.

Brady, who is 1-1 at Lambeau Field with his most recent outing at the ground coming in 2014, said getting the fundamentals right was key on the road.

"We've been pretty good on the road all year, outside of the first game and then the Chicago game. For one reason or another we've just done a good job," he told a news conference.

"Some years it's been like that, I've been part of other teams when it wasn't quite like that. Let's keep that streak going, that would be pretty sweet, so let's get another one.

"We're going to be challenged to get it because we're going up against a great football team. Playing on the road is about playing good football – communication, execution, all the fundamentals of blocking, tackling. All those things.

"It's a great environment and this is one of the coolest stadiums in the league to play in. I know they're excited, we're excited, and it'll make for a great football game."

The victory at Raymond James Stadium marked a welcome return to normalcy for the Bucs (7-3), who had dropped successive road games at New Orleans and Washington. They are now 5-0 at home this season. 

Brady completed 30 of 46 passes for 307 yards with an interception and a pair of touchdown passes for Tampa Bay, hitting Chris Godwin for a TD on the opening drive of the game and finding Mike Evans for a five-yard score midway through the third quarter. 

Evans' touchdown was the 72nd of his Buccaneers career, breaking the franchise record of 71 previously held by Mike Alstott. 

Ronald Jones ran for another Tampa Bay touchdown and Ryan Succop made all three of his field goal attempts for the Bucs. 

The Tampa Bay defence forced three turnovers as Giants quarterback Daniel Jones went 23-of-38 passing for just 167 yards with a TD and two interceptions. 

New York (3-7) scored on two of their first three possessions to keep the game tight at 10-10 midway through the second quarter but could not put a point on the board from there. 

Saquon Barkley returned after missing four games with a sprained ankle, but the Giants' star running back managed only 25 yards on six carries. 

The Buccaneers survived a scare in New York, where they trailed 14-3 before completing a spirited comeback against the struggling Giants (1-7) on Monday.

Daniel Jones put the Giants in position to tie the game with a two-point conversion attempt in the final minute but the quarterback's throw to Dion Lewis was knocked away by Tampa Bay safety Antoine Winfield Jr.

The Buccaneers held on to improve to 6-2 for the season as legendary QB Brady celebrated his 36th start in which his team have overcome a double-digit deficit to win, per Stats Perform. No other quarterback in NFL history has as many as 30 – Peyton Manning and Dan Marino both have 29 each.

Brady was 28-of-40 passing for 279 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions at MetLife Stadium, where counterpart Jones finished 25 of 41 for 256 yards, two TDs and as many interceptions.

The Giants started well on home soil, Jones' seven-yard TD throw to Lewis giving New York a 7-3 lead at the end of the opening quarter.

Wayne Gallman's two-yard run helped the Giants take a 14-6 advantage into half-time before Brady and the Buccaneers rallied.

Ryan Succop's third field goal chipped away at the deficit and Brady's three-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski – the 93rd TD between the star duo – put the Buccaneers 15-14 ahead with six minutes remaining in the third period, though Graham Gano's 33-yard field goal restored New York's advantage.

Brady was in the thick of the action in the final quarter, connecting with Mike Evans for an eight-yard pass as Succop extended Tampa Bay's lead to 25-17 less than four minutes from the end.

With 28 seconds remaining, Golden Tate caught a 19-yard pass from Jones, but it was too little too late for the Giants.

Needing a win to book their first playoff appearance since 2002, the Browns triumphed 24-22 in the final game of their regular season.

Joining the Browns in the playoffs are the Baltimore Ravens, who thrashed the Cincinnati Bengals 38-3 to take another of the seven available postseason spots on Sunday.

The Miami Dolphins' hopes took a blow as they succumbed to a heavy defeat to AFC East winners Buffalo Bills, while the Dallas Cowboys fell short at the final hurdle with a loss at the New York Giants, who need a favour from the Philadelphia Eagles.

BROWNS END 18-YEAR WAIT

After 17 seasons of being on the outside looking in, the Browns are into the playoffs thanks to a nerve-wracking victory over the Steelers enough to end a dismal run.

Cleveland had to shut down its practice facility four times over the course of the last eight days due to COVID-19 concerns but, inspired by Baker Mayfield, the Browns made it through.

Mayfield threw for 196 yards and one touchdown but led some decisive drives and sealed the victory with a first-down run at the death after Mason Rudolph had missed a two-point attempt that would have tied the game.

The Browns finish the regular season 11-5 – it is their best record since 1994, when Bill Belichick led them to their last win in a playoff game. 

Pittsburgh ultimately ended Cleveland's hopes that season, and the Steelers will be the Browns' first opponents in the playoffs next week. 

In another twist of fate, the Browns' only playoff appearance this century also came in Pittsburgh, where they lost 36-33.

JACKSON-INSPIRED RAVENS SOAR AND GIANTS ON THE BRINK

Lamar Jackson became the first quarterback in NFL history to top 1,000 rushing yards in successive seasons as he helped the Ravens to a massive, playoff-clinching win over the Bengals.

More records tumbled for the 2019 MVP, as the 23-year-old became the first QB to throw 46 red-zone touchdowns without an interception and takes the crown for the fastest QB to amass 30 wins.

Jackson, a former first-round pick, rushed for 97 yards on Week 17, as Baltimore won a fifth straight game with ease.

The Raves will now face the winner of the AFC South – either the Tennessee Titans or the Indianapolis Colts.

Meanwhile, the Giants will be rooting for the Eagles to overcome the Washington Football Team later on Sunday after their win over the Cowboys put them on the brink of the postseason.

Should Philly win, the Giants will clinch the NFC East title, though a Washington win would send Ron Rivera's team through.

DOLPHINS SINK, BRADY'S BUCS CAP OFF REGULAR SEASON IN STYLE

The Dolphins' playoff chances are slim after a 56-26 defeat to the Bills, as Josh Allen and Isaiah McKenzie – who ran in three touchdowns – blew them away in Buffalo.

Allen, who is in a race for the league's MVP award, threw 224 passing yards for three touchdowns on Sunday.

The third-year QB holds single-season franchise records for passing yards (4,544), touchdowns (37) and completions (396).

Miami must now rely on the Jacksonville Jaguars to pull off an unlikely win over the Indianapolis Colts to claim a playoff berth.

Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished a brilliant regular season with a 44-27 win over the Atlanta Falcons.

On his record-setting 299th start in the NFL, Tom Brady threw touchdown passes to Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown, as the six-time Super Bowl champion finished with a Tampa Bay single-season record 40.

Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Dan Marino are the only players other than Brady with multiple seasons of at least 40 touchdown passes.

Brady also picked out three-time Pro Bowler Mike Evans with a pass, who once again reached 1,000 receiving yards in a season for Tampa, though he then suffered a game-ending knee injury.

JEFFERSON INTO THE RECORD BOOKS

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson set a new Super Bowl-era record as he surpassed Anquan Boldin for the rookie with the most receiving yards in a season.

He is now second all-time behind Bill Groman, who holds a rookie record of 1,473 receiving yards, which he set in 1960.

Jefferson also set a Vikings franchise rookie record when he caught a 15-yard pass in the third quarter of a 37-35 win over the Detroit Lions, who will finish no lower than seventh in the current draft order.

Week 17 results (part one)

Baltimore Ravens 38-3 Cincinnati Bengals
Buffalo Bills 56-26 Miami Dolphins
Cleveland Browns 24-22 Pittsburgh Steelers
Minnesota Vikings 37-35 Detroit Lions
New England Patriots 28-14 New York Jets
New York Giants 23-19 Dallas Cowboys
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 44-27 Atlanta Falcons

Evans went into the Week 17 game on the brink of NFL history, as he was in sight of becoming the first receiver to have seven straight seasons with 1,000 yards to start a career. 

The three-time Pro Bowler duly reached the milestone in the first quarter on Sunday when reeling in a 20-yard pass from quarterback Tom Brady. 

However, on the next play, Evans was hurt trying to score a touchdown. In pain having over-extended his left leg, he was taken to the team's locker room on a cart. 

Tampa Bay later confirmed the receiver would not be returning, with his health now a huge concern for the franchise ahead of the playoffs. 

The Bucs have already qualified for the postseason but will finish behind the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South – they are yet to discover who they will face in the opening round. 

Brady, meanwhile, also achieved a notable landmark, his 299th start in the NFL moving him out of a tie with Brett Favre for the most by a quarterback. 

That led to a "lot of bad nights' sleep" for ultra-competitive Tom Brady as he stewed over mistakes made and opportunities lost. 

Even after they got back on track with a 30-10 defeat of the New York Giants on Monday, though, the quarterback and his team-mates did not sound entirely satisfied. 

"I think we've got a long way to go," Brady told ESPN afterward. "Seven games left, so there's a lot of football left.

"The games are bigger because there's fewer of them, and we put ourselves in a decent position but we've got to keep going."

On the heels of defeats against New Orleans and Washington, the Buccaneers (7-3) and little trouble fending off the Giants (3-7), but the reigning Super Bowl champions could have been more efficient. 

While all three of their touchdowns came from deep in Giants territory, the Bucs drove inside New York's 25-yard line three more times but had to settle for field goals. 

"We executed a little bit better," Brady said. "Still left a few out there, I thought, but better.

"Good win for our team, obviously. Losing two straight, that really sucks in the NFL. But glad it's not three straight, glad we won." 

Brady completed 30 of 46 passes for 307 yards with an interception and a pair of touchdown passes, hitting Chris Godwin for a TD on the opening drive of the game and finding Mike Evans for a five-yard score midway through the third quarter. 

Evans' touchdown was the 72nd of his Buccaneers career, breaking the franchise record of 71 previously held by franchise icon Mike Alstott. 

"It's something I dreamed of," Evans told NFL Network. "I've been blessed to have great teammates, good health, and I've worked really hard for it, so I'm proud of it. I'm just happy to be in the same sentence with Mike Alstott."

Only 28 years old, Evans has spent his entire eight-year NFL career with Tampa Bay and reached double digits in touchdown receptions four times. 

With 10 TD catches this year, he is well-positioned to top his career-best mark of 13 in a season established last year. 

Brady said Evans is "amazing, in every way – as a player, teammate, friend, leader. He's just awesome. Love being out there with him, love playing with him. He really sets the tone for that group."

In addition to Evans' steady contributions, the Bucs also benefited from tight end Rob Gronkowski's return to the lineup Monday after playing only five snaps since Week 3 due to a variety of injuries. 

He had six catches for 71 yards against the Giants, and if he can stay healthy he will provide another valuable weapon as Brady and the Bucs gear up for another playoff run. 

"We're at a decent point but we can play a lot better than we've played," Brady said. "I'm hoping our best football is in front of us."

The Bucs wide receiver hyperextended his left knee in the first quarter of the Week 17 win over the Atlanta Falcons and did not return. 

Evans reached 1,000 receiving yards for a seventh consecutive season since the start of his NFL career just prior to getting hurt, in the process becoming the first player to achieve the feat.

The worrying injury represented a blow to Tampa Bay ahead of their first playoff appearance since 2007. 

But head coach Bruce Arians is still holding out hope for Evans, who had 70 receptions for 1,006 yards this year, scoring a career-high 13 touchdowns. 

The 27-year-old did not participate in practice on Tuesday or Wednesday but had limited involvement on Thursday. 

"I think he's got a chance," Arians said. "He'll be a game-time decision.

"He's lived in the training room and done a great job with it, and in the meeting room, staying off his feet.

"Today's the first day he tried to do much active movement, and it was okay, hopefully. We'll see how sore he is tomorrow [on Friday]."

But the Bucs will not take any risks, as Arians added: "If he goes out there, he's healthy. We're not putting him out there to limp on one leg. So, if he's playing, he's good to go."

Three-time Pro Bowler Evans will be catching passes from the man many consider to be the greatest of all time next season after Brady confirmed on Friday that Tampa Bay was his next destination.

Brady won six Super Bowls across a successful 20-year run in New England, while Evans, a first-round pick in 2014, has not yet played in a post-season game for a Bucs team without a playoff appearance in 12 seasons.

However, in a live stream for the game Fortnite, Evans sounded upbeat about the possibility of that drought ending now Brady is on board.

"It's surreal, he's going to be my quarterback, bro," Evans said.

"I've played six years in the NFL and I haven't been to the playoffs yet.

"Tom Brady has won six Super Bowls."

The 26-year-old added: "Bro, I've been on that Hennessy, man.

"I'm drinking, I got Tom Brady, you know what I'm saying?"

Despite Tampa Bay's collective struggles, Evans has been a huge success with the Bucs.

He has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first half a dozen campaigns in the league - a feat only Randy Moss, a former favourite target of Brady, has also achieved.

Evans has a franchise-record 48 receiving touchdowns, too.

Tampa improved to 6-2 on the season with a hard-fought 25-23 win over the New York Giants on Monday, pushing them a game ahead of the New Orleans Saints at the top of the NFC South.

Next up is a clash between the division's top two on Sunday - and Tampa are set to be boosted by having Brown available.

The 32-year-old, a seven-time Pro Bowler, has not played since Week 2 of the 2019 season when he was briefly with the New England Patriots. He has been serving an eight-game ban at the start of this campaign, which has now been completed.

Evans is hopeful Brown can make an immediate impact for his new team - and also help make his job a little easier out on the field too.

Asked about the addition during his post-game interview with ESPN, Evans said: "Perfect. Perfect. He's an unbelievable receiver, one of the best of all-time, and he's going to help us a lot.

"Hopefully, he can take some double teams off me and make some plays, just like he always has."

The Bucs had appeared in danger of being on the wrong end of a shock result when they trailed the Giants 14-6 at half-time, but hit back to win for a second successive week on the road.

Evans caught an eight-yard pass from quarterback Tom Brady to put the visitors 22-17 ahead in New York, continuing the pair's strong connection when it comes to scoring touchdowns.

"Whenever we get a one-on-one opportunity in the red zone, he [Brady] likes to try and find me. He threw a great ball [for the touchdown]," Evans, who now has six TD catches for the season, said.

"When you come to work every day and work hard, you want the results to be 'Ws' [wins]. It's finally paying off and we just have to keep stacking them."

With fellow wideout Chris Godwin sidelined, Evans finished as the leading receiver for Tampa Bay. He had five catches for 55 yards, including that pivotal fourth-quarter touchdown.

Still, the Bucs had to repel a two-point conversion attempt from the Giants, who are now 1-7, in the closing seconds that would have levelled the scores.

"We got hit in the mouth - and credit to [Giants head coach] Joe Judge, as he had his team ready and they played their tails off - but we made enough plays to win the game," Tampa head coach Bruce Arians told the media after the game.

"You should never apologise for winning. I thought we were slow to start offensively. Defensively, I don't like to see people run the ball on us, but we made the plays that counted."

The Bucs went into the half trailing 14-10, but knowing victory would clinch the NFC South and their spot in the playoffs.

It would have been much worse for the Bucs if not for Tom Brady's deep shot to Evans, which took the latter to the 1,000-yard mark for the ninth successive season.

That saw him tie Oakland Raiders great Tim Brown for the second-longest such streak in NFL history.

Only San Francisco 49ers legend Jerry Rice has a longer streak (11).

Evans already owned the longest such streak to start a career, extending his own record with a reception that the Bucs hoped would be the catalyst for a comeback in a potentially decisive game.

Evans was deemed to have violated unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct rules when he knocked Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore to the ground during the fourth quarter of Tampa Bay's 20-10 win. He was ejected along with Lattimore, who provoked the incident by getting in the face of Bucs quarterback Tom Brady before Evans intervened with a blindside shove that prompted a brief melee between the teams.

The four-time Pro Bowler will miss Sunday's game at the Green Bay Packers after appeals officer and former NFL wide receiver James Thrash denied Evans' request to overturn the penalty.

Evans' absence further depletes a Buccaneers receiving corps that was already shorthanded last week with Chris Godwin and Julio Jones both inactive. Godwin is reportedly expected to miss multiple games after injuring his hamstring in Tampa Bay's season-opening win at the Dallas Cowboys, while Jones sat out the New Orleans game with a knee injury and is uncertain to return against the Packers.

The Buccaneers did sign veteran slot receiver Cole Beasley to the practice squad on Tuesday, though it is unclear if he'll be ready to help out immediately.

Evans, the only player in NFL history to begin his career with eight consecutive seasons of 1,000 or more receiving yards, leads Tampa Bay with eight catches and 132 receiving yards through two games.

The 29-year-old was previously suspended one game in 2017 for a similar confrontation with Lattimore.

In this latest incident, NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan determined that Evans' actions were excessive and unnecessary and broke league safety and sportsmanship rules.

"After a play had ended, you were walking toward your sidelines. When you noticed your team-mates engaged in a confrontation with Saints' players, you ran toward that area on the field and violently threw your body into and struck an unsuspecting opponent who was part of that confrontation," Runyan wrote in a letter to Evans informing him of the decision.

"You knocked your opponent to the ground and a melee ensued involving players from both teams. Your aggressive conduct could have caused serious injury to your opponent and clearly does not reflect the high standards of sportsmanship expected of a professional."

Brady is eyeing a seventh Super Bowl crown against the NFL's top superstar Mahomes, who looks the most likely candidate to come close to his total in the years ahead.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs have not made it to Sunday's game purely based on their quarterbacks, though.

Stats Perform's NFL research analyst Ethan Cooperson will be in the commentary booth as part of the CBS broadcast crew with Jim Nantz and Tony Romo at Raymond James Stadium.

He has highlighted some of the most interesting data that suggests the Bucs' Mike Evans and Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill have pivotal roles to play.

EVANS RISING TO BRADY CHALLENGE

Brady and Evans have had a few difficult moments over the course of a campaign where the wideout has battled injuries at times.

But his contribution may not have had the credit it deserved for the Bucs' run to the big game.

"The Mike Evans effect is actually underrated," Cooperson said to Stats Perform News. "A little indication of that - Evans, this season, 14 touchdown receptions including the playoffs.

"The only wide receiver in Brady's career to catch more from him in one season is Randy Moss in 2007.

"So of all the years he played in New England with Wes Welker, with Moss, Evans is having the second most productive year in terms of TDs by any wide receiver who has been paired with Brady.

"This is obviously a great talent in Evans, who has had 1,000 yards in every season of his career, an unknown because he played on a team that was never in the playoffs.

"But now that he's with Brady, suddenly he's become, in some respects, a star because now we are realising how good this guy has been for all these years - and Brady's helped bring that out."

Evans is a formidable red-zone weapon when he is targeted. He has had one red-zone catch in each of the past two games, both touchdowns.

Per Stats Perform data, including the postseason, 11 of his 15 TD catches have come in the red zone; both figures are franchise records.

CAN HILL BE STOPPED?

In the AFC Championship Game, Hill (nine catches, 172 receiving yards) and Travis Kelce (13 catches, 118 receiving yards) became the first pair of team-mates all-time with 20+ catches and 280+ receiving yards combined in a playoff game.

The only time any NFL duo reached those numbers during the 2020 regular season was Kelce and Hill in Week 12 when they won impressively at Tampa Bay (21 catches, 351 receiving yards).

The Bucs will need an answer for Hill. In the first meeting, he became the second player in NFL history with 13+ catches, 20+ yards per catch and 3+ touchdowns in a game, joining Jerry Rice (December 18, 1995).

His 269 receiving yards were the most by any player in a game this season and the most ever allowed by Tampa Bay.

Cooperson explained: "Let's see what the Buccaneers do to defend Tyreek Hill.

"Last meeting, Carlton Davis against Hill, Davis allowed 194 receiving yards in that game - 183 to Hill, but 194 receiving yards, the most that any one defender has allowed in any single game all season.

"Clearly, they need to do something different against Hill, that's what this might come down to.

"In that game it was one of one of the better performances by a receiver in a single game in league history, something has to be done differently to try to shut him down.

"But, of course, there's the danger that if you rotate through much of the coverage to him then Travis Kelce's open all day to catch passes and beat the defense that way.

"It is a dilemma for any defensive coordinator with two great weapons like that, it seems like it's almost impossible to stop both of them - so maybe try to stop one of them.

"It's a nightmare to try to try to defend. And clearly they struck out in trying to defend Hill the last time. Recently, no one else has been able to cover both of those receivers.

"I like Hill with the speed. I think he's tougher to bring down in the open field. Some of his runs when he gets into the open field are electrifying and what he can do after the catch is pretty dazzling.

"He's an effective rusher in addition to being a great pass catcher. In the open field, that's a big part of what makes him so dangerous."

GRONKOWSKI V KELCE

The two star tight ends, Rob Gronkowski and Kelce, are also sure to capture plenty of attention and have been subject to many pre-game comparisons.

"To be fair, I don't think Gronk is a great weapon at this point," said Cooperson as he gave his verdict.

"I think he has one catch in the postseason. So he's a great blocker. That's one thing that's not mentioned about him, more than some of the other very good pass-catching tight ends.

"Cameron Brate actually is having a much more productive postseason than Gronk as far as receiving.

"It's essentially a case where Kelce has inherited the mantle from Gronkowski as the game's elite tight end. He has statistically, in terms of receptions and yards, surpassed a lot of what Gronk has done.

"Five straight 1,000-yard seasons - unprecedented for a tight end. Kelce is such a weapon, he's almost a wide receiver playing tight end.

"He's such a weapon in the red zone, he is such a weapon over the middle, he's a weapon on deep throws. There's not much in his game that he can't do.

"And there's not much that they don't use him to do. He's having the best season ever by a tight end and he's destroying the tight end record book.

"His next catch, assuming he gets a catch in the Super Bowl, that will be number 127 of the season, which will be the most ever by a tight end over a regular season and playoffs combined."