Unknown Quarterbacks Find Spotlight

Sunday was one of those days that demonstrates how far the NFL has advanced since a few years ago when the lament was: “Where are the quarterbacks?”

Not only did Marc Bulger, cut by New Orleans two years ago, star for the St. Louis Rams for the fourth straight week (he passed for 453 yards), but so did a lot of quarterbacks who have survived hard times.

Add Tommy Maddox, Kerry Collins and Aaron Brooks to the quarterbacks who had a big Sunday after coming from nowhere or disappearing. Maddox had 473 yards in Pittsburgh’s 34-34 tie with Atlanta, marking the first time in NFL history that two quarterbacks had thrown for more than 450 yards in one day.

Even Todd Bouman, who has been on the end of the Minnesota bench for five seasons and once battled Jay Fiedler for the third-string job, replaced Daunte Culpepper against the New York Giants and directed the Vikings to two touchdowns in an ultimately futile comeback attempt.

How out-of-nowhere has Maddox’s strong run been for the Steelers? ESPN doesn’t even have a mug shot of him on their Web site, instead running the silhouette of an unknown person.

Comparing Maddox’s numbers in the seven games he has played this season with Kordell Stewart’s numbers in his last seven games:

Maddox has completed 133 of 206 passes (64.6%) for 1,678 yards, 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions for a passer rating of 90.1. The Steelers are 5-1-1 in those games.

Stewart has completed 120 of 211 passes (56.9%) for 1,318 yards, seven touchdowns and 15 interceptions for a passer rating of 56.9. The Steelers are 2-5 in those games.

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Making his NFL debut against the Giants, Vikings’ rookie Bryant McKinnie gave up his first-ever sack but otherwise looked strong at left tackle. He played there for all but three series, totaling 41 plays.

McKinnie was originally supposed to play between 15 and 25 snaps, but he showed up in better shape than the Vikings anticipated.

“I think there were some scheme things that maybe we could’ve done better, but he competed,” Coach Mike Tice said.

“He is going to be a force. And he’ll be better next week.”

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Sunday’s key injuries:

* Ram running back Marshall Faulk sprained his left ankle, but the injury shouldn’t force him to miss any games.

* Cincinnati defensive tackle Oliver Gibson tore his left Achilles’ tendon, and cornerback Ligarius Jennings tore his left ACL. Both are out for the season.

* Giant wide receiver Tim Carter tore his Achilles’ tendon and is out for the season.

* Green Bay running backs Ahman Green (mild concussion) and Najeh Davenport (sprained ankle) left the Packers’ game against the Detroit Lions.

* Tennessee Titan tight end Frank Wycheck was hit on the second possession of the game against Houston and didn’t return because of a concussion.

Houston Mitchell

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Bests of the Day

*--* PASSING Att Cmp Yds TD TOMMY MADDOX, Steelers 41 28 473 4 MARC BULGER, Rams 48 36 453 4 BRETT FAVRE, Packers 39 26 351 2 TOM BRADY, Patriots 55 36 328 3 PEYTON MANNING, Colts 23 18 319 3 RODNEY PEETE, Panthers 37 20 310 2 KERRY COLLINS, Giants 35 25 300 2

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*--* RUSHING Att Yards Avg TD MICHAEL BENNETT, Vikings 15 167 11.1 1 JAMAL LEWIS, Ravens 21 135 6.4 2 WARRICK DUNN, Falcons 20 129 6.5 1 TIKI BARBER, Giants 24 127 5.3 1 AMOS ZEREOUE, Steelers 37 123 3.3 0

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*--* RECEIVING No Yards Avg TD PLAXICO BURRESS, Steelers 9 253 28.1 2 ISAAC BRUCE, Rams 10 163 16.3 3 AZ-ZAHIR HAKIM, Lions 7 143 20.4 1 HINES WARD, Steelers 11 139 12.6 1 MARVIN HARRISON, Colts 6 137 22.8 2 EDDIE KENNISON, Chiefs 8 134 16.8 0 SHAWN JEFFERSON, Falcons 9 131 14.6 1

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*--* DEFENSE Breakdown ED HARTWELL, Ravens 9 unassisted tackles, 2 sacks

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