Owens’ Broken Finger Puts a Damper on Win

From Terrell Owens’ talking about his broken ring finger and upcoming surgery to Bill Parcells’ saying he felt “sick” because of how many penalties and other mistakes his team made, the Dallas Cowboys’ locker room was a somber place.

Imagine how bad it would’ve been had they lost Sunday night.

Drew Bledsoe steadied the offense just as he said he would and the defense was superb, leading the Cowboys past the Washington Redskins, 27-10, in a game that seemed to have as many negatives as positives for the winners.

Dallas needed the victory to avoid a quarterback controversy and all the other negatives that come with a 0-2 start. For now, being 1-1 and in a three-way tie for first place in the NFC East only helps stem the disappointment of Owens’ going under the knife today and being out two to four weeks.

“I’m going to try to get back as soon as I can,” said Owens, whose rehab will be motivated by an Oct. 8 game in Philadelphia. “I feel like I’m a quick healer. Once we have the surgery, the healing process will start.”

Owens, who sat out most of the preseason because of a hamstring injury, said he was injured in one of the first few plays of his home debut. He didn’t tell anyone until the fourth quarter and was taken to the locker room for an X-ray.

The injury helps explain why he dropped so many passes -- one in the end zone on Dallas’ first drive and two on high passes with defenders ready to pop him. He also was penalized for an illegal block on the Cowboys’ first snap and later for lining up in the wrong place.

“We’ve got some guys that can step in,” said Owens, who finished with three catches for 19 yards, all in the first quarter.

Washington (0-2) is off to its worst start since going 0-5 under Marty Schottenheimer in 2001.

“I think we have a lot of things we need to fix to win football games,” Coach Joe Gibbs said. “Certainly, this is a tough time for us.”

Washington had only 100 yards at halftime and trailed, 17-10, only because of a 100-yard kickoff return by Rock Cartwright. The Redskins’ only other score, a 39-yard field goal by John Hall, came after a drive boosted heavily by consecutive roughing penalties.

Bledsoe completed 19 of 38 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns, but he was much better than the numbers indicate, especially considering the scrutiny he was facing after playing poorly in the opener.

“I thought he made some real good decisions,” Parcells said.