Pop quiz: Who has the most receiving yards in the NFL?
Time's up. Marvin Harrison? Wrong. Terrell Owens? Nope, he has the most arguments with his coach. Rod Smith? Wrong, although he has the most sprained ankles.
The NFL leader in receiving yards resides in Arizona, though his name is more easterly, and lines up for one of the hottest teams in the league.
The Arizona Cardinals' David Boston, a rich man's Rod Tidwell, has accumulated 1,171 yards in 11 games this season for a healthy 16.3 yards per catch. Boston also has six scores on the season and seven games in which he's eclipsed the 100-yard mark.
The other six games were nice, but last week's performance was - pardon the clich?© - clutch. Against the AFC-leading Oakland Raiders, Boston brought an A-game that other A-games dream about. In the 34-31 overtime upset, the wideout had six receptions for 106 yards and a score.
And what a score it was. With 1:10 left in the game and the Raiders up 24-23, quarterback Jake Plummer found Boston for a 50-yard score. Sure, the touchdown gave the Cardinals a lead that would propel them into overtime, but more impressive was who took it to the house.
Raider cornerback Charles Woodson is amongst the best cover men in the game. Boston doesn't care. The Cardinals' receiver, an Ohio State graduate, cared more about outrunning Woodson, a Michigan alum. He out-ran him, then he out-taunted him.
The two have a stormy past that goes back to being on opposite sides of one of college football's greatest rivalries. And while no one will mistake the Cardinals and Raiders for the old Bo Schembekler-Woody Hayes matchups, Boston carried the feud with him last Sunday.
After spiking the ball, he walked towards the beaten Woodson, glaring at him in that contemptuous, conceited way trash-talkers have perfected. Teammates broke the two up, but not before Boston got the last word.
And in the game, the Cardinals got the final points - three of them in overtime on a Bill Gramatica field goal. Don't mistake little brother for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker, although they both celebrate in that obnoxious, I-just-won-the-Prom-Queen kind of way. Gramatica has kicked the winning field goal in each of the Cardinals' last two games, which is two-thirds of their current winning streak.
It may not sound like much, but winning three consecutive games in the NFL these days is like ripping off 15 straight in a basketball season. True, the Cardinals lost three in a row before getting hot, but they are currently 5-6, which, amazingly, is good enough for second place in the NFC East. In fact, the NFC is so proportionately mediocre that the Cardinals are only one game away from being tied for the sixth and final playoff spot.
So how does a team that was supposed to reupholster the NFC East basement grow visions of playoffs? It's hard to say. Unlike some other of this year's surprise teams, Arizona is playing without much of a hand.
Plummer has been inconsistent throughout his career, though he is narrowing in on 3,000 yards passing this year. When he's playing within himself, he can be an ace, but when he starts forcing the ball he throws a jack-hammer into the offense.
Arizona has two low cards in running backs Michael Pittman and Thomas Jones, neither of which have met their potential. The defense is made up of a bunch of guys who would need "hello, my name is" stickers at the Pro-Bowl.
However, coach Dave McGinnis has his team believing it can win, which is often the most important factor in the NFL. And fortunately for McGinnis, he has a soft schedule the rest of the way - Arizona plays the Washington Redskins twice, the New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Carolina Panthers - which means he might be able to bluff his way into the postseason.
Of course, if he does, he'll still be holding high card Boston.
The good
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis is leading the NFL in rushing. He has also led his team to a 9-2 record, the best in the AFC. Unfortunately for the Steelers - one of the three teams in Pittsburgh that wear black and yellow, the only such town - Bettis will be out this Sunday with a sore hip and abdomen. He should be back next week, though, which is good news for the Steelers, as Bettis has 1,072 rushing yards this season.The bad
The Detroit Lions are 0-11. You could try to rationalize it by saying they've come close in recent weeks, but the Detroit Lions are 0-11. The Detroit Lions are 0-11. Oh yeah, now their starting quarterback, Charlie Batch, is out for the season. And the Detroit Lions are 0-11.The ugly
Did I mention the Detroit Lions are 0-11? They lost their last game when kicker Jason Hanson - one of the most accurate kickers in the NFL - missed a field goal. The week before, they lost by two when a two-point conversion failed. Oh my god, the Detroit Lions are 0-11.
