Stuck behind Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce on the depth chart in his four years with the St. Louis Rams, Kevin Curtis never really flashed much star potential before he signed with the Eagles has a free agent in the 2007 off-season. In fact, he had only gone over 100 yards once in his career, getting 105 in a game against the Jaguars in '05. But coming to a Philadelphia Eagles team devoid of any real #1 (or even #2) wideout since the departure of Terrell Owens, Curtis was afforded opportunities he never saw in St. Louis. With a little help from Donovan McNabb on September 23rd, 2007, he certainly took advantage of them.
Playing in their 75th Anniversary powder blue and yellow uniforms (recently listed by SportsCenter as one of the most unfortunate sports costume choices of recent years, though I still kinda like them), the Eagles made short work of a hapless Detroit secondary. In just the first half of the game, Curtis caught nine passes for a stunning 205 yards, with three scores to boot. That total tied Buffalo's Lee Evans for the most in a game's first half since Steve Largent went for 224 courtesy of QB Jeff Kemp for Seattle in 1987. Curtis was quiet for the rest of the game, but the rest of the offense continued to pile on, for a final score of Eagles 56, Lions 21. (On the other side, a none-too-shabby 446-yard passing day for Jon Kitna and 204-yard receiving day for Roy Williams were thoroughly wasted).
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Of course, injuries to McNabb and a tough divisional run (The Cowboys, Giants and Skins were all post-season bound that year) led to the Eagles going a sub-par 8-8 and missing the playoffs for just the second time this decade. With all kinds of shiny new toys at their disposal, McNabb and Reid have relied less on Curtis recently, but for now at least, he remains the answer to the trivia question of who the only post-T.O. Eagles receiver to log 1000 receiving yards in a season is, and one of the less humiliating wideouts the Eagles have tied themselves to in recent years.