Buffalo Bills wide receiver Lee Evans (R) scores a touchdown on a 32 yard pass play as Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber (R) defends during first quarter NFL football action in Orchard Park, New York.
Something was bubbling inside his combustible, diamond-studded skull. And as Terrell Owens sat on the bench, massaging his forehead after another quiet series, the outcome looked grim for the Buffalo Bills.
They were winning, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their home opener without his help, and that was part of the problem. Owens does not suffer silence well, which is why the deep ball thrown by quarterback Trent Edwards a few minutes later probably did as much for the sanity of football fans across Western New York as it did the outcome.
Owens caught the pass in full flight to the end zone, a 43-yard catch that went for his first touchdown in Buffalo, adding some security in a 33-20 win. Running back Fred Jackson was the star, carrying 28 times for 163 yards, but Owens remained the unquestioned celebrity by leaving everyone wondering exactly what he was thinking.
The 35-year-old receiver slipped from Ralph Wilson Stadium without uttering a word to reporters. Owens also restrained his formidable speaking talents after the season opener, and is assured to maintain his position as the king of online fan forums and talk radio.
“It will be about T.O.,” linebacker Kawika Mitchell said. “Don’t worry about that.”
Owens finished with three catches for 52 yards. He was only targeted five times — Tampa Bay threw to tight end Kellen Winslow 10 times — and was headed for a second straight quiet finish before the touchdown. The cheers in the crowd masked the sigh of relief.
“We had just picked up a first down and they were on their heels a little bit,” Edwards said. “We caught them in an all-out blitz, and Terrell did the rest. You’ve just got to throw the ball as far as you can, and he’ll run under it.”
The twin threat of Owens and fellow receiver Lee Evans was established early, with a 32-yard touchdown to Evans in the first quarter, softening the middle of Tampa’s defence for Jackson. Buffalo took a 14-0 lead before the game was nine minutes old when free safety Donte Whitner returned an interception 76 yards for a touchdown.
Buffalo was coasting, and the fans — having marinated in the parking lots for three hours longer than usual thanks to the 4 p.m. kickoff — were verging on delirium. They craved it, after another manic opening to a season in a city filled with football neurotics.
Still vulnerable after the late-game collapse against New England, the crowd hushed after Jackson fumbled deep in Tampa territory in the second quarter.
Buccaneers safety Sabby Piscitelli recovered and sprinted 72 yards downfield, setting up a short pass from Byron Leftwich to running back Cadillac Williams that cut Buffalo’s lead to 20-14, where it remained for an uncertain eternity.
And the news kept getting worse. The Bills lost right tackle Brad Butler to a knee injury in the second quarter, weakening an already inexperienced offensive line. Cornerback Leodis McKelvin was soon lost to an undisclosed ankle injury and tight end Derek Schouman was carted off the field in the third quarter. He left as the team’s leading receiver.
Owens, meanwhile, came and went without notice until his touchdown.
He had caused a minor stir by not speaking with reporters after the 25-24 loss to New England. And there was another swirl of smoke around comments he made to reporters mid-week about his lack of involvement in the offence under Edwards.
“It’s always a work in progress,” Owens said. “And Trent has to better assess what he’s seeing out there and take some shots down the field.”
By finally taking that shot Sunday, Edwards might have avoided — or, at least, delayed —an explosion.
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