Moss, Owens inch up all-time TD-per-game list

With one touchdown reception each in the New England-Dallas showdown on Sunday, Randy Moss and Terrell Owens inched ever so slightly up the all-time list of highest scoring receivers in NFL history, based upon TD catches per game.

 

Moss is No. 2 all time, averaging nearly 0.76 TDs per game over the course of his career (109 TD catches in 144 games). Owens is No. 3, with 0.72 TDs per game (118 TDs in 164 games). Marvin Harrison remains No. 4 on the all-time list, at nearly 0.71 TD catches per game (123 TDs in 174 games).

 

The three modern phenoms appear likely to remain in those positions for the foreseeable future. There's a big gap between Moss and No. 1 Don Huston (the most dominant receiver ever and a member of the Cold, Hard Football Facts All-Time 11). There's also a big gap between No. 4 Harrison and the next active player, Torry Holt, who is No. 16 on the all-time list, averaging a shade over 1 TD every two games.

 

To put the difference between Hutston and the rest of the pack in perspective, No. 2 Moss would need to haul in 37 TD passes between now and the end of the 2008 season (26 games) to surpass Hutson's career average of 0.853 TD catches per game.

 

	Player	TDs	Games	TDs per game
1	Don Hutson	99	116	0.853
2	Randy Moss	109	144	0.757
3	Terrell Owens	118	164	0.720
4	Marvin Harrison	123	174	0.707
5	Art Powell	81	117	0.692
6	Jerry Rice	197	303	0.650
7	Lance Alworth	85	136	0.625
8	Sterling Sharpe	65	112	0.580
9	Cris Carter	130	234	0.556
10	Tommy McDonald	84	152	0.553
11	Gary Collins	70	127	0.551
12	Sonny Randle	65	120	0.542
13	Paul Warfield	85	157	0.541
14	Bullet Bob Hayes	71	132	0.538
15	Mark Clayton	84	158	0.532
16	Torry Holt	67	132	0.508
17	Carl Pickens	63	125	0.504
18	Steve Largent	100	200	0.500
19	Charlie Taylor	79	165	0.479
20	Don Maynard	88	186	0.473
21	Wesley Walker	71	154	0.461
22	Andre Rison	84	184	0.457
23	Joey Galloway	74	167	0.4431
24	Jimmy Orr	66	149	0.4430
25	Raymond Berry	68	154	0.442
26	Bobby Mitchell	65	148	0.439
27	Carmichael	79	182	0.434
28	Isaac Bruce	80	187	0.428
29	Herman Moore	62	149	0.416
30	Michael Irvin	65	159	0.409

Minimum, 60 TD receptions