Arthur Moats is a pretty popular dude right now. He's getting a lot of publicity for ending Brett Favre's consecutive games played streak with a vicious hit in Week 14, and he should be getting more notoriety for a strong performance in the Buffalo Bills' 13-6 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Moats' four-tackle performance, highlighted by a sack and strip of quarterback Jake Delhomme that set up a field goal, has earned him a nomination for the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week honor.
He's got stiff competition, as Buccaneers wideout Arrelious Benn (four catches, 122 yards), Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (five catches, 43 yards, TD), Chargers running back Ryan Mathews (16 carries, 65 yards, TD) and Cardinals quarterback John Skelton (15 of 37, 143 yards) are also up for the award.
Moats is going to get the sentimental vote this week from voters that are - how do we put this lightly? - pleased that Favre's streak has come to an end (and that his arm is apparently dead). I'd argue that of the five rookies up for the award, Moats had the highest-impact play of the bunch in terms of helping his team earn a win.
Vote for Moats here, Bills fans.