5 of the (many) defining moments from Terrell Owens’ Hall of Fame career

Terrell Owens is a Pro Football Hall of Famer. As one of the greatest receivers to ever play the game, he was one well before he was ever officially elected. It’s a joke he didn’t make it in his first two years of eligibility, and in true T.O. fashion, he won’t be attending the Hall of Fame ceremony but will instead host his own.

Owens will be celebrating himself, and I sure as heck will be celebrating him, too. The man provided some of the absolute best moments in recent NFL history. He also provided some of the silliest.

There are numerous plays and moments that could be used to define Owens’ career, but these are the ones that stand out for me. Let’s start with perhaps the most underappreciated one of them all.

The San Francisco 49ers knew that Jerry Rice’s final home game with the team would be on Dec. 17, 2000 against the Chicago Bears. They honored Rice that day, and Owens ... well, Owens went off. Owens set a then-NFL record of 20 receptions in the game, which accounted for 283 yards and a touchdown.

Their former coach, Steve Mariucci, revealed in 2017 that Rice was “pissed” about being overshadowed by Owens’ career day, even if Owens showed a rare moment of deference by telling reporters after the himself after the game, “The most important thing is to give all the credit to Jerry. This is Jerry’s day. It’s not about Terrell.”

While I’m a 49ers fan personally, and believe Rice to be the greatest receiver of all time, it made so many people hopeful that the 49ers could continue to be good with Rice gone. They weren’t — not for long anyway — but the game meant a lot to 49ers fans, and it didn’t sour them on Rice any, either. In the end, it was a win-win. Rice will likely forever overshadow T.O. in the pantheon of the greatest-ever wide receivers, but on that day, Rice’s day, T.O. was unstoppable.

On Sept. 24, 2000, there was no Twitter, but dammit, I really wish there had been. Because seeing the reaction to Owens catching a 3-yard touchdown pass before sprinting to midfield, setting the ball down in the middle of the Dallas Cowboys Star and raising his arms would be amazing.

And it would only get better when Emmitt Smith mimicked the celebration after running in a touchdown a little over a minute later. And better again when Owens caught another touchdown in the fourth quarter before sprinting to the star again. There, he was promptly hit by Dallas safety George Teague, and a small brawl involving both teams ensued.

Owens would later say it wasn’t about disrespecting Dallas, just about celebrating in the best spot at Texas Stadium, where he could look up through the hole at the sky and declare his status as the best to everyone and God. But for me, it’ll always be a taunt at the Cowboys.

Owens is as tough as they get, and that was on display on Feb. 6, 2005 in Super Bowl XXXIX. Owens, now with the Philadelphia Eagles, carried the team as far as he could despite being hampered by an ankle injury and a fractured leg from earlier in the season. The man was virtually limping at times, but he still caught nine passes for 122 yards. The Eagles wound losing a close one, 24-21, to the New England Patriots, but Owens’ heroic efforts weren’t overlooked. That day, players, coaches and fans alike applauded Owens for his toughness and his ability to dominate even through injuries — and his performance remains legendary even now.

Owens was prolific with his celebrations, and there are quite a few that stand out. I can’t get enough of the popcorn celebration that I know you’ve already seen before. But did you also know that Owens had 156 yards and a touchdown in that 2007 game against the Packers?

Some would put the sharpie celebration at the top. That occurred much earlier in his career, when he was with the 49ers, but it’s still one of his best. In that game against the Seahawks, he had six catches for 84 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Owens could dance with the best of ‘em, as well. Observe:

This is one of my all-time favorites.

Owens was struggling in this Jan. 3, 1999 wild card playoff game at Candlestick Park. He had multiple dropped passes and a costly fumble that led to Green Bay’s first touchdown of the game. But then, with seconds to go and the 49ers trailing by four points, Steve Young fires off a pass to Owens over the top of one defender and in-between two others.

Owens makes the catch, takes two very hard hits for his troubles, but manages to hang on and the 49ers won the game. He did what he often did: make up for any mistakes by being clutch and resilient.

These aren’t necessarily the top five or so moments of Owens’ career, but rather five that jump out to me. There’s a long list of others that people could point to: His open workout after being sent home from Eagles camp, “That’s my quarterback,” dropping the football in the Salvation Army bucket, or any number of games where he played out of this world.

But one thing we can all agree on: He was just so damn good.