According to our friends at the Boston Herald:

Randy Moss is in the midst of the longest playoff scoring drought of his career. He’s coming off one of his least-productive games, ever.

Sounds like he’s due.

Moss didn’t set an NFL record for touchdown receptions this season by underachieving for any appreciable length of time. He had a lot on his plate when the Pats faced the Jaguars last week, from the threat of a scandal to a Jacksonville defense designed specifically to stop him.

But the All-Pro should have a clear mind when the Patriots [team stats] meet the Chargers this afternoon. And if the past is any indication, he’ll deliver. Because that’s what he has traditionally done in the playoffs.

“I know what he’s been able to accomplish,” Patriots quarterback Tom Brady [stats] said of his favorite target. “And you know, he’s the best receiver in the league, so that speaks for itself. And it makes it easy as a quarterback when you just throw the ball up in the air and he goes up and catches it. I know he’s excited about this week.”

When the Patriots acquired Moss last April, his arrival was portrayed as a skilled player’s opportunity to win a championship. The implication was that because Moss’ Vikings and Raiders teams hadn’t gotten it done in the postseason, neither had he.

But an examination of his playoff resume reveals nothing could be further from the truth.

He has caught 36 passes for 737 yards (a 20.5-yard average) in nine career playoff games. He has scored nine TDs, and been denied the end zone just three times, including last week against the Jags when he caught one pass for 14 yards, both postseason lows.

Consider his game-by-game performance.

* 1998 NFC divisional round (Vikings 41, Cardinals 21): Moss caught four passes for 73 yards and a score in his first playoff game. The highest scoring team in history (at least until this year), the 15-1 Vikings kicked things off with a rout.

* 1998 NFC Championship Game (Falcons 30, Vikings 27): Virtually all of Moss’ production (6 catches, 75 yards, a 31-yard TD) came before intermission. But the Falcons held him to just one catch for four yards in the second half and overtime. Gary Anderson missed his first field goal of the season and the Vikings dropped a heartbreaker.

* 1999 NFC wild card round (Vikings 27, Cowboys 10): Moss caught five passes for 127 yards and a 58-yard score. Vikings quarterback Jeff George won his first playoff game by throwing three TDs in the first half.

* 1999 divisional round (Rams 49, Vikings 37): Moss turned in the best postseason game of his career in a shootout with the Greatest Show on Turf. He caught nine passes for 188 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Vikings trailed, 49-17, in the fourth quarter before a desperation rally fell short. Moss caught TDs of 44 and 2 yards.

* 2000 NFC divisional round (Vikings 34, Saints 16): Moss only had two catches but he made them count — they went for touchdowns of 53 and 68 yards. The first one came on Minnesota’s third snap and started the rout.

“I think inside their heads it was, ’Uh-oh, you don’t want to get me started. That’s the worst thing you ever want to do,’ ” Moss said after the game.

* 2000 NFC Championship Game (Giants 41, Vikings 0): Plenty of fans expected the high-flying Vikings to soar into the Super Bowl, but they laid a giant egg. Moss was held to two catches for 18 yards.

* 2004 NFC wild card round (Vikings 31, Packers 17): The infamous Moon Game. Moss was messing with Packers fans but ended up getting in hot water. He caught four passes for 70 yards and two scores, and after the second one pretended to moon the crowd. Teammates later defended him by saying he was merely playing off the Green Bay tradition of fans mooning the opposing bus as it pulls into Lambeau Field. Whatever his reasons, it turned into a controversy and earned Moss a $10,000 fine.

* 2004 NFC divisional round (Eagles 27, Vikings 14): Moss’ last playoff hurrah with the Vikings ended in disappointment. Old friend Freddie Mitchell was the star of this one, catching two TDs with Eagles starter Terrell Owens sidelined and then humbly thanking God for his hands. Moss was limited to three catches for 51 yards and no touchdowns.

That’s a pretty solid resume and suggests that Moss is ready to bounce back in a big way. Today would be a nice place to start.