The New York Giants blew an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth — and were knocked out of the NFC East race — with a disappointing 24-19 loss on Thursday night to a Philadelphia Eagles team that had lost five straight games.
Giants superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was particularly furious about the loss, and was reportedly “growling to himself” and “losing it” outside the team locker room after the game. The Giants even had team staff and security walk him back to the locker room.
An angry Odell Beckham was outside the Giants' locker room growling to himself by a garage door. Team staff and security had to come get him
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano) December 23, 2016
Odell Beckham was growling to himself, losing it outside locker room. Team security & John Mara guided him into locker room eventually pic.twitter.com/ebdB8dH787
— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) December 23, 2016
Beckham was certainly not the reason the Giants lost, as he reeled in 11 receptions for 150 yards:
11 grabs.
150 yards.It was a big night for @OBJ_3. #TNF https://t.co/pHng0lIOVx
— NFL (@NFL) December 23, 2016
And he made a few huge plays in the fourth quarter, like this one (the moves he shows off here are ridiculous, as is his speed):
But what apparently set OBJ off was a play he didn’t make in the final seconds on a deep pass from Eli Manning (one play before a game-ending interception):
Here’s what OBJ had to say about the play, according to Mark Cannizarro of the New York Post:
“I just didn’t make the play,’’ Beckham said. “It was put where it needed to be, I just needed a little more gas in me to go get it. When you get into that two-minute situation at the end of the game and you run a 30-yard route and you come back and try and get it again. … I just didn’t have enough gas to go get it.
“[The pass] wasn’t really overthrown. I need to do a better job. That’s one of the things I said I would work on — when the ball’s in the air, you duck your head, and take three steps, drive, look up again, take another three steps and drive.
“I just didn’t do it for some reason. I thought I’d be able to get to it and I wasn’t able to. That weighs heavily on me. I want to be able to make those plays for this team, and we had our destiny in our hands and we didn’t come up with it.’’
I just love everything about this. The guy expects perfection out of himself, and despite a monster game, it’s one play he didn’t make — on what looked like an overthrown pass — that had him “growling at himself” and “losing it” after the game. This is good anger to have. This is passion. This is being a competitor. This is wanting to win a championship and expecting to be the best receiver in the league.
OBJ also kept the outburst away from his teammates, and was “as calm as could be” when the speaking with the media (which he did for eight minutes):
In the locker room later, Beckham was calm as could be, speaking to media for about 8 minutes.
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano) December 23, 2016
The Giants can still clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Washington Redskins next week, and OBJ will be more motivated than ever to go off. I wouldn’t want to be a member of the Washington secondary for that one.
