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Owens denied in debut

The receiver's best efforts aren't enough for Dallas as Jacksonville rallies.

By JOANNE KORTH
Published September 11, 2006

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JACKSONVILLE - Terrell Owens could have screamed. He could have fussed and fumed.

He could have had two touchdowns.

He could have had 100 yards.

And he could have justified calling out a few teammates after his much-anticipated Cowboys debut ended with a loss to the Jaguars at rain-soaked Alltel Stadium.

Instead, Owens talked calmly of missed chances, losing as a team and learning from mistakes. Apparently, at some point during his long offseason, the controversial receiver traded defiance for diplomacy.

For now.

"We had a lot of mistakes," Owens said. "Going into a game, we know you can't win with turnovers and obviously we had a number of those. We had some mental mistakes, jumping offsides. We're not down on ourselves. We know we had an opportunity to win the game."

We. We. We.

Who is this guy?

Owens, suspended and deactivated for the final nine games of 2005 by the Eagles, sizzled in his Dallas debut with a team-high six receptions for 80 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown. It was not enough to overcome Drew Bledsoe's three interceptions, crummy pass protection, shabby kicking and 93 yards in penalties.

"It's disappointing; it really is," Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said. "We just couldn't get it together."

If anyone had a right to be rusty it was Owens. It had been more than 10 months since his last game and he missed more than half of Dallas' training camp practices with a strained left hamstring.

But Owens was ready.

He quickly got involved, catching a slant for 13 yards and a first down on Dallas' first play.

After two possessions, Owens had two catches and Dallas led 10-0. Then it began to unravel.

Led by quarterback Byron Leftwich, who threw for one score and ran for another, Jacksonville tied it just before halftime and took the lead early in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars scored 24 straight points.

"When we went down before the half and scored, I felt like it really knocked the wind out of them," said running back Fred Taylor, whose 5-yard run made it 24-10 with 3:13 left. "We just fought through a little adversity and came back."

For his part, Owens was swift and sure-handed. Also, he was open.

Early in the second quarter, Bledsoe missed Owens twice in three plays, underthrowing a deep sideline route - corner Rashean Mathis was called for a 31-yard pass interference penalty at the Jaguars 38 - and overthrowing a crossing route. Either might have gone for a touchdown.

"That's the nature of the game," said Owens, who signed a three-year, $25-million contract in March. "There are going to be missed opportunities. It's something we're going to work on."

Early in the third, Owens turned a short pass into a 25-yard gain to the Jaguars 36, but the play was called back for offensive pass interference on tight end Anthony Fasano. Later in the quarter Owens' spiffy one-handed catch was nullified by tight end Jason Witten's false start.

And so it went.

Witten appeared to give Dallas a 17-10 lead on a 10-yard reception in the end zone, but was penalized for pushing off a defender. Filling in for kicker Mike Vanderjagt, out because of a groin strain, Shaun Suisham clanged a 36-yard field goal off the upright.

Trailing 24-10, Owens made one last splash play. He caught career touchdown No. 102 on a 21-yard pass from Bledsoe, adjusting from a route to the back corner of the end zone to turn and catch the ball over his inside shoulder.

"People know what to expect when I step on the field," said Owens, who played every snap. "What you saw (Sunday) is nothing I haven't done before. When I step on the field, I come to play."

Unlike his teammates.

But you didn't hear it from him.

[Last modified September 11, 2006, 05:09:55]

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