Domonique Foxworth sat quietly at his cubicle Wednesday in a corner of the Broncos locker room. He was out of the spotlight and expecting to stay there.
He was casually talking about one of the premier individual matchups of this NFL weekend – T.O. vs. Champ. With the zeal of a 22-year-old fan, Foxworth said he couldn’t wait to watch the matchup.
“People are paying to see Champ and Owens,” the soft-spoken, third- round pick from Maryland said. “They’re not coming to see me.”
Before Sunday’s game was over, however, all eyes were on the smiling young cornerback from Maryland. While the matchup between Terrell Owens and Champ Bailey ended prematurely when Bailey aggravated a hamstring injury, Foxworth made the play of the game in Denver’s 49-21 victory over Philadelphia at Invesco Field at Mile High.
Denver jumped out to a 28-0 lead in the first half. Then for the fourth consecutive week, the Broncos let a big lead slip away. In the third quarter, Philadelphia pulled within 28-21. The Broncos’ defense was struggling, and their offense sputtering with three consecutive three-and-out series.
As the Eagles were poised to tie the game, Foxworth was there to save the day.
On third-and-5 from the Denver 24, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb looked for receiver Reggie Brown in the end zone. Foxworth, who had done a good job on Owens after Bailey departed – dived in front of the pass and made a gliding interception. It was the first game-changing play for Denver in the second half and ignited a 21-point turnaround.
“It lit a spark for everybody,” Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. “Domonique makes a great play. That’s a great play for a young player. A lot of guys put in that situation, they don’t make the interception. They’ll knock it down, maybe. But that was really a big play on his part.”
It made up for the lone stain on Foxworth’s rookie season. Last week, New York’s Amani Toomer beat Foxworth to catch a 2-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning with five seconds to go to give the Giants an improbable 24-23 victory over the Broncos.
“It was good to come up with the big play this week,” Foxworth said.
Foxworth, who was the nickel back until the third quarter Sunday, really had no choice but to perform.
Bailey left the game shortly after giving up a 91-yard touchdown reception to Owens to make the score 28-14 in the third quarter. Bailey has played parts of the past three games after missing two games with a left hamstring injury. Bailey said he could have returned, but he wouldn’t have been at full speed. Bailey and Shanahan said the bye week should greatly help Bailey in preparation to face Oakland’s Randy Moss and Jerry Porter on Nov. 13.
Still, Bailey took responsibility for missing Owens near the line of scrimmage.
“I’ve been injured the whole time and have been making plays, so it’s no excuse,” Bailey said. “I needed to make that play. I had to make that play.
“But the rookie came through again for us when we needed him. Thank goodness.”
Owens finished with three catches for 154 yards. It was the first time since Owens joined Philadelphia that the team lost when he scored a touchdown. The Eagles are 13-1 when Owens reaches the end zone and are 17-5 overall with him.
“Owens is great, just great. That pretty much sums it up,” Foxworth said. “It was great to play against him.”
Four days earlier, Foxworth was just hoping for a supporting role in defending against T.O. Sunday, he was a star.
Big-play day
The following is a look at big pass plays with the Eagles offense and the Broncos defense on the field.
SECOND QUARTER
* Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb throws an interception to Denver safety John Lynch. Impact: Denver took over on the Eagles’ 48-yard line and soon took a 28-0 lead.
* McNabb throws a 35-yard pass to Reggie Brown to the Denver 43. Impact: It set up the Eagles’ first score of the game, right before the half.
THIRD QUARTER
* McNabb hits Terrell Owens for a 91-yard touchdown to make it 28-14. Impact: Cornerback Champ Bailey’s hamstring injury clearly affected him here.
* McNabb hits Owens for a 46-yard pass to the Denver 18. Impact: It set up a score that brought the Eagles within seven points.
FOURTH QUARTER
* McNabb is intercepted by Domonique Foxworth in the end zone. Impact: The interception gave Denver a huge spark and essentially saved the game.
Bill Williamson can be reached at 303-820-5450 or bwilliamson@denverpost.com.
