A special delivery posted by FredEx

With 2 1/2 touchdowns, an opponent-baiting celebration performance, and a clutch play in the final minutes, F.M. all but out-T.O.'d T.O.

A year after "fourth and 26," which remains his finest moment, Mitchell turned in his finest three hours as an Eagle. He was the answer to the question: Can the Eagles' offense thrive without T.O.?

If you know FredEx, if you've heard of the People's Champion, then you already know his answer was in the affirmative.

"I'm a special player," he said after the game. "I just want to thank my hands for being so great. "

You had to see him to appreciate the full effect. Not just the 10-gallon hat and Dhani Jones bow tie, either. You had to see his eyes and his deadpan delivery to get the joke.

Mitchell is kidding. Only he isn't. He really feels he is a great player who hasn't had a chance to prove it. At the same time, he gets a charge out of playing the role of the great player showing off in front of the cameras.

If Budweiser's "Leon" character is an actor playing a spoiled athlete, Mitchell is a real athlete playing an actor playing a spoiled athlete. Keeping track of Mitchell's wheels within wheels is full-time work.

Example: He caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Donovan McNabb in the first quarter. Mitchell got the ball just inside the goal line and fell toward the sideline. He got up, ran toward the back of the end zone, and bent over.

Shades of Randy Moss' recent performance, "A Moon Over Lambeau. " But no. Mitchell pulled his imaginary pants up, not down. He wasn't offending Joe Buck up in the Fox booth; he was covering up. And then, of course, he made sure those pants stayed up by applying his invisible championship belt.

It was, like Owens' regular-season mockery of Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis, a sly bit of physical humor. You had to understand the context - Moss' getting fined for his mimed "moon" last week in Green Bay - and you had to understand F.M. and his People's Champion persona.

"That just came up during the week," Mitchell said. "I just wanted to do something to make people smile. I'm just glad I got the opportunity to actually make plays. "

The key word in there, of course, is actually. Mitchell has, more or less, quietly chafed at his role in the Eagles' offense the last couple of years. As a first-round pick, he really should have graduated to a starting job by now.

Andy Reid's insistence on using him as a slot receiver, the most physical job for the least physically imposing of the Eagles' receivers, is one reason that never happened. The acquisition last year of Owens is another. Suddenly, a proven superstar was here to take the spotlight off the perennial understudy. "I've just been waiting to get on the field," Mitchell said. "They really haven't needed me, so I've just been chilling, being patient and being humble. I knew my time was going to come. "

There was poetry in the fact that F.M. scored his second touchdown on a ball thrown to someone else. As tight end L.J. Smith ran toward the end zone, Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield hit him. The ball flew into the air like a soft pop fly to the outfield.

Say, F.M., weren't you a centerfielder on the UCLA baseball team? "One of the best," F.M. replied. Humbly, of course.

The ball came down in his hands. Touchdown.

Even when he himself fumbled a touchdown away, it was a good play. Mitchell was fighting for the end zone after catching a 30-yard pass. He reached out and lost the ball as he tried to get it across the goal line.

The official on the scene signaled a touchdown. A replay review took it away, ruling it a touchback. Such was the nature of the game that it didn't matter all that much.

"I could have definitely run out of bounds," F.M. said, "but that is just not my style of play. "

Mitchell has always been willing to run the hard routes, whether across the middle of a defense or the even more dangerous zone of public opinion. He recognizes the give-and-take between the players, the fans and the media, and he's willing to give as well as take.

Most players won't chide the fans for booing, or take the media to task for harping on Owens' absence. Mitchell doesn't hesitate.

And a five-catch, 2 1/2-touchdown day - one that ended with Minnesota's last-gasp onside kick in his "great" hands - is all the validation F.M. needs.

"I definitely want to say hi to all my new friends out there," Mitchell said, "the people that doubted me and the other wide receivers. "

Hey, FredEx. Yo, People's Champion. If you don't hear that kind of talk, the solution is simple. Just keep your radio tuned to F.M.