Randy Moss's NFL greatness was undeniable from the start

Moss decimated Dallas on the biggest stage of the NFL regular season, with the assassin stat line of three catches for three touchdowns, all from over 50 yards. He added another catch for a two-point conversion in a statement 46-36 win for the Vikings, who were propelled from a middling team the season before to one of the more exciting contenders in the league, thanks in large part to Moss.

John Madden couldn’t resist exclaiming about what he saw, and none of it felt like hyperbole. 

“I don’t like to go overboard on the thing,” Madden said on the telecast. “This is the second week in a row we’ve seen Randy Moss. I think, right now, he’s the best wide receiver in football.”

It remained that way for Moss’s first six years in the league, over which he averaged more than 1,200 yards and 12 touchdowns per season. At the outset of his career, he devastated defensive backs with pure speed. That remained the case for a large chunk of his career, though it was far from the only way he could wreak havoc on a defense. Just as often, a defender could be in position to make a play, and Moss would find a way to get to the highest point at the perfect moment and rip the ball away.

On-field performance is only part of the picture that made Moss a crossover star. Superstar receivers have a tendency for being outspoken divas, and Moss sometimes had a flair for the dramatic that led him to clash with coaches. At the same time, his laconic street-smart charisma endeared him to the younger fans like few players have ever.

Moss’s defiant outbursts leading to his exit from Minnesota only made him more beloved. The mock mooning of Packers fans in the clinching score of a playoff game isn’t remembered as crass. Instead it’s Joe Buck who was pilloried for his sanctimonious overreaction. When Moss was asked whether he cut the check for the fine associated with the celebration, he replied that when you’re rich, you don’t need to write checks. The follow-up question pressing how he would pay led to one of the more memorable athlete quotes in recent memories and a defining moment in Moss’s career.

Moss was a pop culture icon in part because he was simply better than everyone else. He was also beloved for looking out for himself and not getting caught up in the dim team-first respectability politics often pushed by sports media. Lots of football players come from backgrounds devoid of privilege, yet Moss's effortless swagger connected him with the broader culture like few others from that era.

The biggest knock on Moss is he had a hard time getting motivated when not playing for a team with a realistic shot at contending. That jibes with his lost years with the Raiders, when he had to make do with Kerry Collins, Andrew Walker and Aaron Brooks as his quarterbacks. The moment that the Patriots swung a trade to acquire him in early 2007, the entire world knew it was a swindle. Bill Belichick isn’t quite the alchemist who can extract production from any restive player, as many in the media would like to believe he is. He did, however, provide Moss with the structure, and the possibilities of winning, that gave the Hall of Famer a glorious second act in the NFL.

The Pats had just come off their first playoff loss to Peyton Manning after owning him for years, and in large part they owed it to thinking they didn’t need to load up on receivers as long as they had Tom Brady. When they realized they couldn’t win with the likes of Reche Caldwell, they added Wes Welker and Moss before nearly pulling off the perfect season in 2007.

It’s a shame that Moss could never win that elusive Super Bowl. One could argue that he was part of two of the best teams to not win a championship: the '98 Vikings and the '07 Patriots. In fact, his final NFL game was the Super Bowl XLVII loss to the Ravens as a member of the 49ers. By then, Moss was 35 and clearly on his way out. Even though he wasn’t a starting receiver on the team, he found a way to make an impact on the biggest stage. A 32-yard, fourth-quarter reception set his team up for a touchdown that would have tied the game late were the Niners successful on the two-point try.

After the Patriots fell behind late in Super Bowl XLII, with a chance to complete their perfect season, Brady whipped a ball improbably deep along the left sideline that fell just outside the grasp of Moss. The receiver has said that miss remains the biggest of his career even though it would have been an otherworldly play. At the time, the Patriots were reviled as a team, and yet that didn’t stick to Moss. If anything, him winning a title would have been the silver lining for frustrated casual fans. When the Patriots fell behind by three with 35 seconds left in the game, those who rooted against them didn't yet feel comfortable because of the greatness of both Brady and Moss. 

For all the intense referendums on legacy, few hold that loss, or any championship game, against Randy Moss. His greatness remains undisputed and his likeability celebrated without question.