JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Maybe it wasn't a miracle, but I believe nevertheless. I believe in Terrell Owens.
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| Terrell Owens walks off the field after a nine-catch, 122-yard outing. (Getty Images) |
The guy was extraordinary.
He caught a team-high nine passes. He produced a team-high 122 yards receiving. He had one catch of 36 yards. He had another of 30 yards. He made the tough receptions. He made the easy receptions. He dropped nothing.
I think you get the picture. Owens was everything he predicted last week when he told his listeners that "if you don't believe in miracles show up on Sunday." I know one guy who did.
"That's what I've been doing all year," said Owens. "I make plays. It shouldn't come as a surprise."
Well, it did, and here's why: Owens hadn't played since suffering a severe ankle injury Dec. 19, practiced only a week with the club and hadn't been cleared by his physician to play.
Yet he did. In fact, he started, with McNabb's first three passes aimed at him. Owens caught two, and, just like that, his critics were in retreat.
"I just thank God for the opportunity," said Owens. "He allowed me to come back and play this game when nobody in the world gave me a chance. He put me on the biggest platform ever; it just didn't work out. The reason I came back and played this game is because God is good, and God is great."
So was Owens on this evening. He played as he's played so many times before, only he never had to do it with so little preparation, with so much to overcome, in a game of this magnitude.
He ran easily. He never seemed fatigued. He participated in as many plays as his coach called, which was a lot. And he caught almost everything within reach -- once extending himself to make a marvelous grab of a pass near the sideline.
It was just what he told us last week, only this time there was the proof in front of us. He said he wouldn't be a decoy. He said he expected to excel. He said he expected to score.
OK, so he gets credit for two out of three.
"Before we came down here I knew I was going to play," said Owens. "The media made it a situation to where they thought I was grandstanding. But like I told a lot of people: In this situation, if it were someone else like Brett Favre they would've called him a warrior; for me they said I was selfish. If I'm selfish it's because I want to help my team win."
And he tried, but he couldn't overcome the team's four turnovers -- including three McNabb interceptions. At last, Owens deserves a break.
"We just made too many turnovers," he said. "But we'll be back. We will. We'll be back on this stage."
I'm a believer.
