INDIANAPOLIS — What Chad Owens considered a dream quickly turned into a nightmare yesterday for the Jacksonville Jaguars' rookie punt returner.

The sixth-round draft pick from Hawai'i talked excitedly last week about making his NFL debut against the Indianapolis Colts, but Owens was glassy-eyed and nearly speechless after fumbling twice, mishandling a third try and getting benched early in the Jaguars' 10-3 loss.

"I don't know what happened," Owens said. "I can't even begin to explain it. I wasn't pressing. I thought I was relaxed, but it kept popping out of my hands. I've never had a game like that."

All of Owens' problems happened in an 11-minute span of the second quarter. He let his first punt return bounce off his facemask, juggled the second and let the ball dribble out of his hands on the third.

The only positive for Owens was that none of his fumbling problems resulted in turnovers. Deke Cooper recovered his first fumble, and Owens was able to recover the second on his own.

But that didn't keep Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio or special teams coordinator Pete Rodriguez from pulling the plug before halftime. Rookie running back Alvin Pearman, who handled punts in place of Owens in the season opener, returned punts the rest of the game.

"Obviously, Chad Owens struggled today fielding the ball," Del Rio said. "Everybody can see that. It appeared after the first one that he lost his confidence. We tried to stay with him. It didn't get any better, so we ended up taking him out."

Despite standing just 5 foot 7, Owens was one of the country's most dangerous punt returners in college, setting an NCAA season record last season by returning five punts for touchdowns.

But Owens struggled in the preseason, fumbling punt returns against Tampa Bay and Atlanta, and found himself on the inactive list against Seattle last week because of that.

When rookie kick returner Derrick Wimbush was sidelined by a hamstring injury yesterday, the Jaguars took a chance on Owens. But after what happened yesterday, even Owens isn't optimistic that Del Rio will trust him again anytime soon.

"That's something I don't have any control over," Owens said. "I would hope they would stay with me because that's why they picked me, but that's not my call. If they stuck with (Pearman), I wouldn't be able to argue with it."

Owens had never played in a dome before yesterday but refused to use that as an excuse — especially since the white, billowy ceiling in the RCA Dome made the ball easier to see.

Owens said he remains as mystified as anyone by his woes, not to mention nervous about his future. If Owens isn't returning punts, his roster spot is far from secure because he is no higher than fifth on the depth chart at receiver.

"This is a real learning experience for me, and it's up to me to bounce back," he said. "I just hope I keep getting the chance to do that."