Odell Beckham Jr. makes amazing play, but Giants lose
Odell Beckham Jr. makes a catch for the Giants during a game against the Cowboys on Nov. 23, 2014. Credit: AP
Leave it to these 2014 Giants to make one of the best plays in the NFL this season, one of the most amazing catches many longtime observers of the game say they have ever witnessed . . . and lose.
That's what happened Sunday night at MetLife Stadium, where not even the head-shaking athleticism of Odell Beckham Jr. -- or his two touchdowns -- could prevent the team from dropping its sixth straight, 31-28, to the Cowboys. The loss eliminated the Giants (3-8) from the NFC East title (the Cowboys and Eagles sit atop the division at 8-3) and all but mathematically knocked them out of contention for a wild card. Barring a miracle, the Giants will miss the playoffs for a third straight year.
"Every loss is a devastating loss," Tom Coughlin said. "We wanted this game. We put everything into this game. Just like we did the week before and the week before that. It hurts to lose."
The Giants did provide a glimpse of what they are capable of, leading 21-10 at halftime. But the second half featured more of what has plagued the team for the last six weeks: an inability to run, an Eli Manning interception and the inability to make a stop on defense. Even after blowing their lead and then regaining it on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Adrien Robinson that made it 28-24 with 3:00 remaining, the Giants couldn't do what Beckham had done so elegantly earlier: hold on.
Tony Romo, after spending roughly seven seconds in the pocket without pressure from the defensive line, hit Dez Bryant on a 13-yard touchdown pass with 1:01 left with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in coverage.
The game ended when Rashad Jennings caught a fourth-down pass from Manning but was inches short of a first down. It was initially ruled a first down with 23 seconds remaining but overturned after a video review.
The most reviewed play of the night, though, was and will be Beckham's catch.
Don't worry if you missed seeing it as it happened last night. You'll be seeing it over and over for years to come.
The rookie receiver snatched a 43-yard touchdown pass out of the air with one hand on the first play of the second quarter to give the Giants a 14-3 lead.
Beckham ran the deep route against Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr down the right sideline and the two tangled up and flags flew for pass interference against Carr. With Carr holding Beckham's left arm, the receiver leaped, and nearly parallel to the ground, reached out with his right hand to secure the ball cleanly. He came down in the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.
(He caught a more pedestrian 3-yarder on the Giants' opening drive.)
Officials reviewed the play under the auspices that Beckham might have stepped out of bounds prior to the catch. More than likely, they just didn't believe what they had seen.
The catch brought forth a flurry of social media references that included praise from everyone from LeBron James to Richard Sherman to Michael Irvin, many calling it the best they had ever seen.
"I hope it's not the greatest catch of all time," Beckham said. "I would like to make more."
The Cowboys responded with a nine-play, 77-yard drive to make it 14-10 on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Romo to Jason Witten.
The Beckham Catch (capital C from now on) was only one play in a first half otherwise controlled by the Giants, who led 21-10 at halftime. That glimpse of the Giants at their best was short-lived. After two three-and-outs by the Giants, the Cowboys closed to 21-17 when Cole Beasley scored on a 45-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter, catching a pass and avoiding a tackle by Zack Bowman. "That was a kick in the tail," Coughlin said.
Then as they were driving for points that would have made it a two-score game, Manning threw a high pass on second-and-10 from the 19 that was tipped by Preston Parker and intercepted by safety Barry Church at the 3. Church returned it to the 48 and four plays later, Romo hit a wide open Bryant for a 31-yard touchdown that gave the Cowboys their first lead of the game, 24-21, with 1:08 left in the third.
So it was that Beckham was reduced to saying that the catch "means nothing."
"It's fun to make those plays," Beckham said, "but at the end of the day, you still have a loss on your record and we didn't win the game."
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
