Don't look now, but the top receiving duo in the league of late resides in Florham Park, New Jersey.
In their wild win over Kansas City last week, New York Jets pass-catchers Robby Anderson and Jermaine Kearse became the first teammates in franchise history to have 100-plus receiving yards each in consecutive weeks since 1967. Since Week 12, Kearse (262) and Anderson (253) are fourth and fifth in the league, respectively, in receiving yards behind Pro Bowl talents Keenan Allen, Julio Jones and Antonio Brown.
All this from a receiving duo that weren't even a thing until early September, on a team that wasn't expected to win a single game this season and with a 38-year-old journeyman quarterback purportedly on his last legs. How did this happen?
"We are proving a lot of critics wrong," Anderson told Connor Hughes of NJ Advance Media. "Now they'll say they are for us, they believe in us. But we all know that's not the case."
Anderson, a second-year speedster out of Temple, was thrust into the starting receiver role after Quincy Enunwa suffered a season-ending neck injury during training camp and Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall both left in free agency. In the midst of a career year, Anderson is sixth in the league in receiving TDs (7) and is on pace for at least 1,000 receiving yards.
Kearse was acquired via trade right before the start of the season when New York shipped Sheldon Richardson to Seattle. Currently standing at 677 receiving yards and five scores, the former Russell Wilson target is on pace for his best season as a pro with Josh McCown as his signal-caller.
Before the season, most prognosticators pegged the Jets' receiving corps, without or even with Enunwa, as the league's worst. Now, they're the engine behind the NFL's most surprising offense, a unit that has scored a combined 65 points against the playoff-contending Panthers and Chiefs in consecutive weeks.
Anderson and Kearse are both under contract through 2018, while Enunwa is a restricted free agent this offseason. If the Jets can bring back Enunwa, New York will have a trio of reliable pass-catchers in house for whomever is under center next season, be it McCown on another one-year deal or a first-round rookie.
For now, all Gang Green's dynamic duo can do is continue to dial up big games through the air -- Denver's No Fly Zone, or what's left of it, is up next -- and prove their worth.
"It's not necessarily proving people wrong," Kearse said. "It's proving the people who believed in us right. We don't necessarily worry about the people who doubted us, but the people who support us and have our back. We do it for them."
