Five moments that made Odell Beckham Jr one of NFL’s most polarizing figures
Odell Beckham Jr. is back with the New York Giants, the team that drafted him 12th overall in 2014 and where he became one of the most polarizing stars in the league.
Just a year after signing a five-year, $95 million extension, Beckham was traded to the Cleveland Browns in 2019. Seven years later, he’s back, and we’ve come up with his five most notable moments in a Giants uniform.
Honorable mentions include saying he was “not having fun anymore” after a personal slow start in 2016, and then all but saying Eli Manning was the problem with the Giants offense in 2018 during an interview alongside Lil Wayne; although he was probably right.
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Beckham’s talent was undeniable, but it was constantly put on the backburner as the constant talk around him was mostly about on-field outbursts and questionable comments. But on Oct. 16, 2016, Beckham caught two touchdowns – one for 75 yards in the third, and another for 66 yards with less than 90 seconds left that wound up being the game-winner. His 222 receiving yards from that afternoon are his career high, and that fourth quarter score gave MetLife Stadium one of its biggest pops.
Beckham got a chance to mimic an act that every Giants fan wishes they could do. After scoring a touchdown in Philadelphia against the Eagles in 2017, Beckham got on all fours and lifted his leg, pretending to urinate in the end zone in one of his more odd celebrations. His reasoning? “I’m a dog, so I acted like a dog.”
Yes, he was fined.
Beckham had become a rather controversial figure in the game rather quickly thanks to some insane catches and outbursts, but this one may be his most notable. After Eli Manning threw an interception against the Washington Redskins in 2016, Beckham swung his helmet at a kicking net, which returned with a shot in the face.
Two weeks later, in the aforementioned game against the Ravens, he proposed to the kicking net. By his reaction, it said yes.
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At the time, Josh Norman was an elite corner for the 14-0 Carolina Panthers, and Beckham was an elite receiver in New York. The two traded barbs all week long and were physical from the jump. When Beckham dropped a wide open 52-yard touchdown, Norman took advantage and got well in Beckham’s head.
Both players were called for plenty of unsportsmanlike conduct calls with punches, tackles, and plenty other extracurricular activities, somehow not getting ejected, and it finished with Beckham headhunting Norman from several yards away.
Beckham got revenge with a game-tying touchdown and an Allen Iverson-like stepover over Norman, but the damage had already been done, as the receiver was suspended for a game.
No questions asked, this is the best catch ever made. He caught a Hail Mary with three fingers for a touchdown while being tackled.
It created the monster and forever changed the trajectory of Odell Beckham Jr. as we know him.
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