Outspoken NFL star Terrell Owens returns this weekend for the first time to Philadelphia, where he was deactivated last season after squabbles with coach Andy Reid and verbal attacks on quarterback Donovan McNabb.
Owens' hopes of payback were almost derailed last week, however, when the Dallas Cowboys receiver took what was described as an accidental overdose of painkillers for his broken right hand.
His psyche and hand seemed fine as he and Dallas breezed by the Tennessee Titans 45-14, but it will be tougher tomorrow against the Philadelphia Eagles, whose notorious fans were preparing for Owens during the 31-9 win over Green Bay last Monday.
One sign in the parking lot read: "Hope you feel better T.O., so we can hurt you." Another said: "Get a refill. You'll need those pills soon."
Owens sounded professional.
"We're not going there to taste the cheesesteaks. We're not going there to visit the crack in the Liberty Bell," he said. "We're going up there to try to win a ballgame."
McNabb also steered away from the circus.
"It's a division game," he said. "We need it. We look forward to the challenge. Anything else, I personally don't care."
It's a critical game in the very competitive NFC East division, were the Eagles (3-1) have beaten three teams with three wins among them and their only loss was to division rival the New York Giants. Dallas (2-1) has a home win over Washington and last week's victory.
The Eagles are several levels above the dismal Titans. But injuries to Lito Sheppard and Rod Hood have forced them to use NFL Europe graduate Joselio Hanson and return man Dexter Wynn at cornerback.
They could be exploited by Owens and Terry Glenn, who had two touchdown catches against the Titans.
The Pittsburgh Steelers (1-2) come off a bye and two straight losses with a difficult game against the San Diego Chargers (2-1) that takes on more urgency because of division rival Baltimore's 4-0 start.
The Chargers and quarterback Philip Rivers lost for the first time in Baltimore last week on a late touchdown drive led by Steve McNair. They are likely to be part of a tight race with Denver and perhaps Kansas City in the AFC West.
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