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Two of the game's most productive receivers returned to action Sunday as the Jaguars and Jimmy Smith met the Chargers and David Boston.
Both played well, but only Smith was victorious in the battle of winless teams.
Smith, who was suspended for four games because of substance abuse, showed amazing resilience and played in midseason form.
His eight catches for 137 yards took a significant amount of pressure off rookie quarterback Byron Leftwich and the running attack and helped Jacksonville to a 27-21 win.
"It felt great, especially after the response I got from the crowd," Smith said of the ovation he received. "That was very heartwarming. These are the best fans in the world to play in front of."
Not only does Smith appear to have fan support, the franchise's all-time leading receiver is respected by his teammates.
"There's nothing prettier than watching Jimmy Smith go and catch the ball," Jaguars safety Anthony Mitchell said. "I say that even though I've been on the other side of it (as a Baltimore Raven). It's a thing of beauty."
Also beautiful, at least to some degree, was the arrival of Boston. After a stormy first month in which he argued with the coaching staff, dealt with rumors about steroid abuse, made outlandish predictions and eventually was suspended by the team for one game, Boston flexed some of that 245-pound frame and produced 181 yards on 14 catches with two TDs.
"This is only my third game and I haven't been able to be out there in practice all the time, so it's probably my fault our timing isn't where it needs to be right now," Boston told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "But the more we get out there and the more reps we take in practice, the better we'll get.
"I'm coming off an injury (last year), and I'm in a new environment, a new situation, and I'm learning a whole new system. You can't just hop right in and things click for you like that. Sometimes you've got to learn from some of the mistakes you make. But it will click for me."
Giddy about his win over the Chargers, even Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio was astonished by Boston's deeds.
"I know he's a good player, but I didn't think he'd be able to have that much fun against us," Del Rio told the Florida Times-Union. "He is a difference-maker; that's why they gave him all that money ($47-million). I'm sure they want to see those kind of days more often."
CHANGING OF THE GUARD?: While no decisions have been announced, the Leftwich era appears to be in full swing. The first-round pick was 19-of-28 for 336 yards and two touchdowns in his second start. The effort was good enough for his first win and could spell the end in Jacksonville of veteran Mark Brunell.
"It feels great," Leftwich said. "When you get them, you have to celebrate them and have a lot of fun. We're trying to get on a roll here and win five, six or seven games straight and that's how we're going to look at it."
THEY CAN RUN TOO: Sure, the highlight reels of the Vikings' first five wins have been full of breathtaking catches by Randy Moss from Daunte Culpepper or Gus Frerotte. But to get to 5-0, there must be a running game.
Moe Williams scored two touchdowns and combined with Onterrio Smith and Doug Chapman for 156 yards rushing in a win over the Falcons.
The effort was particularly inspiring after the Vikings called only nine running plays in the first half.
The Vikings turned to the run in the third quarter and Williams responded with 45 yards in the quarter. Smith had 63 yards on 13 carries for the game.
"We didn't give up on the run," offensive coordinator Scott Linehan told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis. "Sometimes you're going to have a half or a quarter where ... it's not as good as you'd like it to be. But you have to stick with it, because we have the personnel to be effective running the football each week. It settles you down and gets you in a rhythm."
Some rhythm. The Vikings and the Chiefs are the only 5-0 teams. "It's scary," Moss said. "We really don't know how good we can be, or how good we really are. We're just finding a way to win, and that's what makes us happy."
METTLE TESTED: Here's an understatement: There is disarray in Steeltown. A team many predicted would be in the Super Bowl is 2-3 and showing signs of implosion and doubt.
"That was a very poor display of football," Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher said of a 33-13 home loss to the Browns. "Right now, it seems like anything bad can happen."
And a lot of that bad seems to be happening to quarterback Tommy Maddox, last season's standout. Called out by Cowher during the week for throwing too many interceptions, Maddox had two more, one returned 75 yards for a touchdown. He eventually was benched for Charlie Batch.
"What do you think I'm going to do, jump off the cliff?" Maddox told the Post-Gazette. "Yes, I've got confidence. I've got confidence in myself and I have confidence in my teammates. It's five games into the season. It's not as gloom and doom as people think it is."
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "The best analogy that I have is, when you go to the store, chips are 59 cents; so you go to the store with 59 cents. Well, I think every team in this league comes to the game prepared to get the results, prepared to get the chips. But I swear to God, every time we go to the store, they change the price on us, and we just don't have enough." - Chargers defensive end Marcellus Wiley on San Diego's fortunes this season.
- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.