TEMPE, Ariz. – When Larry Fitzgerald watches Michael Floyd leap for 50-50 passes against one – or two – defensive backs, he’s reminded of Anquan Boldin.

It’s not just Floyd’s physicality that jogs Fitzgerald’s memory. It’s how Floyd’s personality transforms on the field.

To compare Floyd to Boldin, Fitzgerald went back to 2008, when Boldin, who once held the same role as Floyd as Fitzgerald’s complement, suffered a facial fracture. Two games later, after major surgery that inserted seven plates and 40 screws into his face, according to The New York Times, Boldin caught two touchdown passes against Carolina, One, Fitzgerald pointed out, had to go through two Panthers defenders to reach the end zone.

“Mike has that same grit and nastiness,” Fitzgerald said. “It manifests itself on the field. You add that to his confidence and his ability to run all the routes and the confidence that [quarterback] Carson [Palmer] has in him, too, it just makes it that much more special.”

Just about as special as Floyd’s run since Nov. 1.

He’s had four 100-yard games out of the last five he’s played. A hamstring injury in Week 11 kept him out against the Cincinnati Bengals. Floyd returned the next week with just 14 yards, but followed that up with games of 104 and 102 yards.

During his recent string of 100-yard games, Floyd has done it without being the team’s leading receiver during that stretch. He had 439 yards on 24 catches, second to Fitzgerald’s 466 on 50.

Of Floyd’s 24 catches since Nov. 1, 19 were for 10 yards or more and seven were for 22 yards or more – what the Cardinals constitute as “explosive” pass plays – and 18 were on throws “far” down the field, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

“He’s making those 50-50 balls higher than 50-50,” coach Bruce Arians said. “You do that and the quarterback throws to you more often.”

Floyd’s not only finding a role as Arizona’s big-play receiver, he’s embracing it.

“Just got to go up and get them,” Floyd said. “To have the confidence the quarterback has in us, to get the ball for him, is really important for him and for me.”

Michael Floyd has become Carson Palmer's favorite target on deep passes. Jason Miller/Getty Images

With 652 yards through 14 games, another 1,000-yard season isn’t out of the realm of possibility, but it’s unlikely. It would take an average of 116 yards per game in Arizona’s final three for Floyd to hit the benchmark for the second time in his career.

Floyd has put together an impressive run in an offense that Palmer admits doesn’t favor the same receiver every week.

Neither Palmer nor offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin could come up with a concrete reason why Floyd has become a favorite target of Palmer’s. Since Nov. 1, Floyd was the second-most targeted receiver on the Cardinals, but the most-targeted on throws 22 yards or longer, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

“The more I see him do it, the more chances I’ll take with it,” Palmer said.

But why has it taken until midseason for Palmer and Floyd to start hitting consistently on those passes? There are a couple of reasons.

The first is that Floyd entered the season recovering from a gruesome hand injury in which he dislocated three fingers on his left hand early in training camp. It stunted his production early in the season. He was targeted by Palmer more than once in a game just one time in the first five weeks.

The second is that Palmer doesn’t want to work on 50-50 balls during training camp, when Floyd is usually defended by Patrick Peterson or Jerraud Powers, Arizona’s two starting cornerbacks.

“Those 50-50 balls are not something you want your two starters going up for,” Palmer said. “And then you don’t want to do it out there on the field in practice with a scout-team guy that’s been on six teams and then all of a sudden he’s practicing against Mike and wants to make a name for himself.

“You just get worried about those things. It’s just not something you work on until Sundays.”

In the last seven weeks, it looks like Floyd and Palmer have been on the same page.

“I think it all comes inside you if you want to go and get that ball or not,” Floyd said. “When the ball’s in the air, there’s a really good chance I’m coming down with it.

“If I don’t, I’m going to make sure I get the next one.”

That’s the mentality that reminds Fitzgerald of Boldin.

Fitzgerald called Floyd the “meanest guy on our team,” but not in a mean-spirited way. Just in a viciousness sort of way.

But what has made Floyd so dangerous, especially on the deep, 50-50 passes, is that he’s married that dog-eat-dog mentality with his prototypical wide receiver size. The product has been 100-yard games.

“I don’t think [defensive backs] realize how fast Mike really is,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s [6-2, 220 pounds], but the guy is a legitimate 4.4 guy. And once he really gets running, he’s extremely fast and he’s powerful.

“He can jump. He’s got really strong hands at the point of attack. Then you add the nasty demeanor and attitude to the equation and it makes for a real difficult guy to deal with.”