'How the Hell?!' T.O. on Cowboys' Woodson Not on Hall of Fame

“When I got with the Niners ... I didn’t know anything about no rivalry with the Cowboys and the Niners, I knew nothing about that,” Owens said on Fubo's "Getcha Popcorn Ready" show alongside fellow former NFL receiver Andre Reed. “But when it comes to the game plan (it was about where is Woodson)?"

When Owens arrived in San Francisco as a third-round pick in 1996, meetings between the Cowboys and 49ers often decided the NFL's Super Bowl fate. In their first meeting, a 20-17 Dallas victory in November 1996, Woodson helped limit Owens to a single five-yard reception while also picking up a sack and interception.

While Owens eventually solved the Cowboys (earning 532 yards and seven scores in six more meetings), he always kept an eye out for Woodson. Owens even publicly wondered how Woodson, a staple in the Cowboys' three Super Bowl victories in the 1990s, wasn't invited to the Hall of Fame before John Lynch, the 49ers' current general manager.

"John Lynch did some great things here and there, but I’m not looking for John (on the field)," Owens said. "But when I played from my rookie year on, and I played against the Cowboys, I had to identify (where Woodson was). ... Yeah, he has to be accounted for that day because you’re game-planning. ... But I wasn’t scared of (Lynch)."

Woodson, a 2015 inductee in the Cowboys' Ring of Honor, was named a finalist for the 2023 Hall of Fame class but ultimately fell short of induction. Despite that, there will be no lack of Dallas representation in Canton next month, as Chuck Howley and DeMarcus Ware will each have their busts revealed. 

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