NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Oct. 1, 2006) -- As long as Drew Bledsoe and Terry Glenn are connecting for touchdowns, they don't mind when Terrell Owens gets all the attention.
In a game that featured the return of T.O. and the first NFL start of Tennessee rookie Vince Young, Bledsoe and Glenn hooked up on two 13-yard touchdown passes and the Dallas Cowboys beat the Titans 45-14.
Bledsoe sees Owens, the five-time Pro Bowl selection, and Glenn, his former teammate at New England, as the best tandem of receivers he has ever had. Still, Owens is the one who draws extra defensive help.
"When Owens is out there, (Glenn) gets single coverage, and you can't cover him one-on-one," Bledsoe said.
Owens did indeed play with his broken right hand protected by a plate and a glove only five days after his hospital visit for an accidental overdose. He caught five passes for 88 yards but also dropped a pass in the end zone he couldn't pull in with his injured hand.
"He caught a couple balls," Dallas coach Bill Parcells said. "You were there. What do you think? I was pleased with the offense."
There was added drama when Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth stomped on Dallas center Andre Gurode's face and was ejected. Gurode needed stitches above his left eye and didn't return because of blurry vision.
Titans coach Jeff Fisher apologized, and Haynesworth was contrite.
"If they suspend me, that's fine," Haynesworth said. "Because for what I did, whatever they give me, I deserve it. I did it and it's wrong. That's not the game of football; that's not how it's supposed to be played. I let my team down."
Parcells said he didn't see what happened. Neither did Bledsoe, but he wasn't happy.
"There is no place for that in this game," Bledsoe said. "That is something that you hate to see, and something that should not be a part of this game at all."
The Cowboys (2-1) punted only once and ran for 217 of their 369 total yards. Julius Jones ran 23 times for 122 yards and a touchdown.
Young looked very much the rookie as Dallas sacked him twice and intercepted him twice, with Bradie James returning the second 15 yards for a touchdown. Young also fumbled at the end of a scramble, which Dallas also recovered.
He finished 14-for-29 for 155 yards and ran five times for 3 yards.
Fisher tried to keep his decision to start Young a secret, but it leaked out Sept. 30. The Cowboys were well prepared for the athletic rookie.
"I expected to see him a lot," Parcells said. "He's a young kid. When you get behind 34-14, that's a different deal. So it's difficult. He's obviously got a good arm and athletic ability."
Young showed the flashes of potential that prompted the Titans to make him the No. 3 pick overall in April, scoring a 2-point conversion on a draw. He also found receivers under pressure. But playing behind a banged-up offensive line, Young couldn't escape on called running plays.
"I learned that you've got to take care of the ball, for one, and then also don't try to put too much on yourself," Young said.
Fisher said later he is sticking with the rookie from here on out as his starter.
"I said that one of the most difficult things to do was to deal with the temptation to play him sooner than we should. ... I never put a timetable on it," Fisher said.
Dallas trailed only once -- 3-0 -- after Young guided the Titans to a field goal by handing off seven times on an 11-play drive.
Bledsoe rebounded by driving the Cowboys 80 and 55 yards on the next two possessions, which he capped by finding Glenn for a 14-3 lead. That was all they needed.
"It kind of felt like college out there toward the end of the game," Jones said. "Everybody was getting in, everybody was scoring and everybody was getting to play."
Owens had fans chanting "T.O., T.O." as the clock ticked down in the final minutes as he watched the Cowboys finish off the easy victory.
He had his chance at a touchdown right before halftime after pulling in a 46-yard catch down the left sideline. The 7-yarder he tried to grab with his right hand bounced out. An official behind the end zone initially ruled it a TD, and Owens started celebrating by bouncing up and down as he sat on the ground.
But another official overruled the call. Mike Vanderjagt then missed the 26-yard field goal, clanking it off the right upright.
GAME NOTES:
The Cowboys now are 13-5 after bye weeks, second-best in the NFL. Dallas now leads the series with their ex-Texas rivals 7-5. ... Tyson Thompson scored Dallas' final touchdown on a 7-yard run. It was the first NFL touchdown in two seasons for Thompson, the only Cowboy ever to grow up in Irving, Texas, where the team practices and plays. ... The Titans' opening drive that ended in a field goal was their first points in the first quarter this season.
