Buccaneers must exploit this huge Patriots weakness

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have gotten off to a great start, reaching 6-2 before the bye week to position themselves well for a second-half-of-the-season push towards the playoffs.

The Bucs have been resilient on their way to one of the league's best records at the midway point, but now have a grueling three-week stretch where they will face some of the NFL's top contenders.

Before facing off against the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay will host the surging New England Patriots under Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye in Week 10.

The Buccaneers will have their work cut out for them in this highly anticipated showdown, but there is one area they can exploit the Patriots: red zone scoring.

Bucs should look to exploit weak Patriots' red zone defense

Baker Mayfield Bucky Irvin — Sep 7, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving (7) celebrates with quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Buccaneers have had their struggles putting the ball into the endzone once they have found themselves inside the 20, but that has improved in recent weeks. While still not close to where they want to be when it comes to scoring touchdowns over field goals, the Bucs have a great chance to put together a solid game in that department against New England.

The Pats have been susceptible to opposing teams scoring inside the red zone, allowing teams to convert 75% of their trips inside the 20-yard line into touchdowns.

This would be a great spot for the Bucs to start punching the ball in the endzone, but they will likely have to do so without much of their offensive firepower.

Mike Evans has been lost for the rest of the regular season, Luke Goedeke's 21-day practice window has been opened for him to return from the IR (but with no clear return date) and it is still unknown when players like Bucky Irving, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan will make their returns.

The Bucs might not be at full strength entering this one, and will have to rely on the likes of Rachaad White, Emeka Egbuka, Sterling Shepard and Tez Johnson, but they have shown the ability to win games despite that, and could pick up a huge victory in the eyes of the national public and media to once again be talked about as Super Bowl contenders.

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