KANSAS CITY, Mo. – It took a while, but Terrell Owens showed a glimpse of why the Seattle Seahawks gave the 38-year-old an opportunity to make the team’s roster.
Russell Wilson connected with Owens on a 40-yard reception down the right sideline in the third quarter. Owens made a Willie Mays over-the-shoulder basket catch to reel the ball in, with Kansas City defensive back Jacques Reeves clinging to him.
Owens’ catch was greeted with enthusiasm on the Seattle sideline, including safety Earl Thomas, a Dallas Cowboys fan who watched Owens play growing up in his native Texas.
“He’s on our team now,” Thomas said. “He’s been making great plays in practice, and it’s good to see him translate that to the game. I know he has a lot of people watching him and criticizing him. So it’s just great for him to get his first catch out of the way so there won’t be so much pressure on him.”
Owens got time with the starters and Seattle’s second unit. He was targeted three times, and finished with two catches for 41 yards. That performance came after being targeted five times against Denver last week but finishing without a catch – including a drop on what would have been a 46-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Matt Flynn.
Wilson echoed Thomas’ comments about Owens getting his first catch out of the way.
“Obviously he has tremendous confidence and ability in what he can do,” Wilson said. “Now he shows us this everyday in practice, and the same with the rest of the receivers as well. And so he has an ability to get down field and make some catches, and obviously he did tonight. And that was huge for him.”
FLYNN INJURED
Seattle coach Pete Carroll did not rule out Matt Flynn’s availability for the team’s regular-season opener in two weeks at Arizona, saying the LSU product had an elbow injury.
Carroll said that Flynn will be evaluated further over the weekend, but he did not know if he will receive a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test to help further diagnose the injury.
Carroll referred to the injury as similar to tendinitis.
“This is the first time (it’s come up),” Carroll said about the elbow injury. “We have no background on it all. There’s been no experience with him. He has no experience with having a sore elbow.
“He did improve a little bit from when it first flared up. We’d thought he’d be able to throw today and play. And he thought so, too. But when he got out there he just couldn’t. So we held him out, and we’ll go to next week and see what happens.”
Asked how serious the injury is, Carroll said he does not have a timetable on the injury, and the team will have to wait until they receive more information.
Flynn watched the game from the sideline in street clothes.
TATE BOBS, WEAVES
Golden Tate has been waiting to make a big play this exhibition season. And the third-year pro got his opportunity in the second half, returning a punt by Kansas City’s Dustin Colquitt 92 yards for a score.
Tate hit the right sideline, picking up a good block from receiver Charly Martin and linebacker Kyle Knox before weaving his way through the defense for the final 20 yards.
“I think I set up one block, and the rest was a cake walk,” Tate said. “I was just down the sideline with no one around.”
Carroll said the team put a lot of the players who are going to be on special teams during the regular season in the lineup so they could get a better look at those core special-teams units.
EXTRA POINTS
Seattle safety Chris Maragos suffered a shoulder injury in the second half. Defensive lineman Greg Scruggs injured his hamstring in the first half and did not return. Cornerback Brandon Browner had cramps in his calves and had to leave the game. … Seahawks who did not play because of injury or rest were running back Marshawn Lynch (back), cornerback Walter Thurmond (leg), defensive back Roy Lewis (knee), cornerback Ron Parker (knee), linebacker Allen Bradford (hip), linebacker Matt McCoy (knee), linebacker Malcolm Smith (hamstring), offensive lineman John Moffitt (elbow), offensive lineman James Carpenter (knee), tight end Cameron Morrah (toe), receiver Doug Baldwin (hamstring), defensive end Jason Jones (knee), receiver Ben Obomanu (neck) and defensive tackle Pep Levingston (knee).
eric.williams@thenewstribune.com
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