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Randy Moss decided to celebrate his 35th birthday with a present to himself. Moss announced that he intends to return to the NFL after a year away from the league.

He did not play in 2011. On Aug. 1, 2011, his agent said that Moss was considering offers from several teams, but made the decision to retire.

Moss finished 2010 with career lows in receptions (28) and receiving yards (393). He was traded from the New England Patriots to the Minnesota Vikings in midseason and then cut by Minnesota, ultimately finishing the year with the Tennessee Titans. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Moss was just the third first-round draft pick to play for three teams in a single season.

His 2010 numbers looked more like those of a backup wide receiver than a six-time Pro Bowl participant. Despite starting 11 games, Moss ranked 117th in receiving yards and tied for 149th in receptions

Moss ranks in the top five in NFL history in receiving yards (fifth with 14,858), receiving TD (tied for second with 153) and 100-yard receiving games (second with 64). Moss, Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens are the only players to rank in the top five in each of those categories.

He owns the league's single-season record for receiving TD, recording 23 as the Patriots posted the first 16-0 regular season in league history in 2007. He also has the single-season rookie record for receiving TD, registering 17 with the 1998 Vikings.

One of the best deep threats in league history, he has 29 touchdowns of at least 50 yards. Only Jerry Rice, with 36, has more.

Regular-season success hasn't translated to the postseason. His teams were 6-6 in playoff games he appeared in, including a 1-3 mark in conference championship games and Super Bowls. Moss had five catches for 62 yards and a TD in the Patriots loss in Super Bowl XLII, his only Super Bowl appearance.

Moss isn't the only high-profile player to attempt to return to the NFL after retiring. Recent retiree Ricky Williams ran for nearly 3,000 yards after initially retiring in 2004. Hall of Famers Reggie White and Deion Sanders each resumed careers after taking time off.

Not everyone who hopes to return is as successful. Last summer, former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber attempted to return to the NFL after missing four seasons. He failed to sign with any team.

Another season of Monday Night Football is complete, with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees providing a fitting finale by breaking the NFL's single-season record for passing yards.

Brees isn't the first to break a record of note and he won't be the last. Here's a look back at other notable marks that were broken on Monday Night Football.

December 3, 1973 -- Dick Anderson intercepts 4 passes vs Steelers
Anderson tied an NFL record by intercepting 4 passes against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He became the 14th player with 4 interceptions in a game but the first (and only) to do it on Monday Night Football.

January 3, 1983 -- Tony Dorsett runs for 99-yard TD vs Vikings
In the final game of the 1982 regular season, Dorsett ran for a 99-yard touchdown in the 4th quarter. It remains the only 99-yard rushing play in league history. Dorsett finished with 153 rushing yards in the Dallas Cowboys loss.

September 5, 1994 -- Jerry Rice breaks Jim Brown’s record for career touchdowns
Rice scored three times in the Monday Night Football season opener. His third touchdown, a 38-yard pass from Steve Young in the fourth quarter, was the 127th of his career, breaking a tie with Brown for the most touchdowns in NFL history.

October 11, 2010 -- Brett Favre throws his 500th touchdown pass
Favre became the first player in NFL history to reach 500 career passing touchdowns when he found Randy Moss for a 37-yard score in the third quarter. Favre threw two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter but the Vikings lost to the Jets 29-20.

December 20, 2010 -- Devin Hester sets record for combined kick return touchdowns
Hester’s 64-yard punt return TD in the third quarter gave the Chicago Bears a 27-7 lead over the Vikings and broke a tie with Brian Mitchell for most combined punt and kickoff return touchdowns in league history. It was the 14th of Hester’s career.

September 11, 1995/September 12, 2011 -- Favre and Brady: 99-yard touchdowns
Favre tied the NFL record for longest pass play with a 99-yard touchdown throw to Robert Brooks against the Chicago Bears in 1995. Tom Brady matched it with a 99-yard pass to Wes Welker in the Monday Night Football season opener this year.

Randy Moss has called it a career after 13 seasons that saw him catch 954 passes for 14,858 yards and 153 touchdowns. Moss, Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens are the only players to rank in the top five in NFL history in receiving yards, touchdown receptions and 100-yard games.

The six-time Pro Bowler finished his career with 29 touchdowns of at least 50 yards. Only Rice (36) had more.

However, Moss’ regular-season success didn’t translate in the postseason. His teams were a combined 6-6 in playoff games he appeared in, including 1-3 in conference championship games and the Super Bowl. He recorded 47 receptions for 865 yards and 10 TD in 12 postseason games, including five catches for 62 yards and a touchdown in the Patriots' loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII -- his only Super Bowl appearance.

One of the lasting memories of Moss will be his final season. Playing for the New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans in 2010, Moss finished with career lows in receptions (28) and receiving yards (393). Last season also was the only year in his career that he did not have a single 100-yard receiving game. He had no receptions in five games last season, compared to just four from 1998-2009.

Some other Moss memories:
• Owns the league’s single-season record for receiving touchdowns with 23 in 2007.

• Has the single-season rookie record for receiving TD, 17 in 1998.

• Only players in NFL history who have scored more touchdowns than Moss’ 154: Rice (205), Emmitt Smith (175), LaDainian Tomlinson (159) and Owens (156).

After playing for the New York Giants from 2005-08, Plaxico Burress will continue to call the Meadowlands home after signing a one-year deal with the New York Jets.

During his four seasons with the Giants (2005-08), Burress caught 33 touchdowns from Eli Manning. The only quarterback-receiver tandem with more touchdowns over that span was Tony Romo and Terrell Owens, with 34.

Burress is one of 10 players in NFL history with 500 receptions, 7,500 receiving yards and 50 receiving TD while averaging 15 yards per reception in his first nine seasons. Despite his high level of production, Burress has never been selected to a Pro Bowl.

At 6 feet, 5 inches, Burress is as tall as any starting wide receiver in the NFL. His height could help a Jets red zone passing attack this season. In 2010, the Jets ranked 28th in red zone completion (49.3) and were tied for 30th in yards per attempt (2.7).

A big target in the red zone, Burress also was one of the better downfield receivers. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2001, Burress had 56 receptions that were at least 30 yards. Only Terrell Owens, Marvin Harrison, Randy Moss and Torry Holt had more from 2001-08.

Despite playing just 10 games in 2008, Burress was one of the most productive receivers in the league during his first tenure in New York. In his four seasons with the Giants, Burress, Owens and Moss were the only receivers who averaged 15 yards per reception and had at least 30 touchdown receptions.

Burress turns 34 on Aug. 12, but that doesn’t mean he can’t still be productive. In 1996 at the age of 34, Jerry Rice led the NFL with 108 receptions. In 2006, Marvin Harrison had more than 1,300 receiving yards after turning 34, and Owens caught 15 touchdowns at that age in 2007.

Finally, only two players have scored a touchdown with both the Jets and Giants – Chuck Mercein and Chad Morton. Assuming he catches one TD pass, Burress would be the first player to have a touchdown reception for both New York teams.

Let's take a look at some of the notes, stats and trends from the Pittsburgh Steelers' 27-21 win over the Cincinnati Bengals...

• The win makes the Steelers 6-2 at the halfway point of the season for the fourth straight season.

• Mike Tomlin is now 6-0 on Monday Night Football as the Steelers head coach. He's the sixth different head coach to win his first six Monday games.

• Hines Ward caught a pass for the 186th consecutive game. That is the third-longest streak in NFL history. However, he has quite a ways to go to catch the all-time leader. Jerry Rice caught a pass in 274 straight games from 1985 to 2004.

• The Steelers have now allowed 123 points this season. Incredibly, over half of them (63) have been in the fourth quarter. On Monday, 14 of the Bengals' 21 points came in the final frame.

• Terrell Owens had two TD receptions as he became the third player in NFL history with at least 150 career TD receptions. The others are Jerry Rice and Randy Moss.

• It's his 32nd career game with at least two TD receptions. Again, only Rice and Moss have more.

• It's also Owens' 51st career game with at least 100 receiving yards. That is the fourth-most in NFL history. Rice, Moss and Marvin Harrison are the three players in front of him in this category.

• Owens is the third player since the merger to post 10 receptions and a pair of receiving touchdowns against the Steelers. The others are Don Beebe and Ben Coates.

• Antwaan Randle El threw his fifth career TD pass to Mike Wallace. Wallace caught two passes of at least 35 yards and now has caught seven such balls this season. That is tied with Brandon Lloyd for the NFL lead.

• The Steelers led 27-7 in the fourth quarter, yet almost lost the game. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last team to lose a game in which they had a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter was the New York Giants on November 26, 2006. That day they lost to the Tennessee Titans after leading 21-0 in the fourth.

In 2007, Brett Favre was disappointed that the Green Bay Packers did not acquire wide receiver Randy Moss from the Oakland Raiders.

Three years later, Favre will finally get the chance to team up with Moss, as the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots have agreed to a trade that will send the Pro Bowl wide receiver back to the Vikings.

Moss didn't catch a pass on Monday in the Pats' 41-14 win over the Miami Dolphins, just the fifth game in his 13-year career that he did not have a reception, and the first since Week 11 in 2006.

Moss had just nine receptions in New England's first four games. In the first four weeks of 2009, Moss had two games where he had at least 10 receptions.

With the trade, Moss will play on Monday Night Football for the second time in as many weeks, since the Vikings hit the road to play the New York Jets on Monday (8:30 ET, ESPN).

From the Elias Sports Bureau: Moss would be only the second player to appear on Monday Night Football in back-to-back weeks. In 1987, linebacker Keith Browner played for the San Francisco 49ers against the New York Giants on Oct. 5, 1987, then played for the Los Angeles Raiders against the Denver Broncos on Oct. 12.

Since the start of the 2008 season, only Calvin Johnson has more targets than Randy Moss on throws 30 yards or more downfield. Moss has only been able to bring down 10 of those 45 passes, with six going for touchdowns and another six getting intercepted.

How good was Moss in Minnesota from 1998-2004? The only player in NFL history who has more receiving yards than Moss in his first seven seasons is Torry Holt (9,487), and the only player with more touchdown receptions in his first seven seasons is Jerry Rice (93).

The Jets need to be on alert because Moss has put up huge numbers in his first game with his new team. In his first game with the Vikings, Oakland Raiders and Patriots, Moss’ combined numbers: 18 receptions, 408 yards and four touchdowns.