New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. blamed himself for Sunday's loss to the New England Patriots, saying he should have been able to catch a potential late-game touchdown with under two minutes to go.
Odell Beckham Jr. blames himself for loss to Patriots
Beckham couldn’t secure a potential game-winning touchdown catch late against the Patriots.
“I lost us the game with the play down in the end zone, a play that should have been made,” he said after the game. “You can’t leave it up to the officials to get anything right. You’ve got to make the play yourself, and it was just a case of playing the play longer than the opponent.”
Beckham caught the ball in the end zone and brought both feet to the ground before Malcolm Butler punched the ball out of his hand. Many thought it was a touchdown, but the NFL ruled that Beckham had not yet become a runner, despite toe tapping in the end zone.
“I caught it. I trust in my hands,” Beckham said. “I go up and catch it. You come down with two feet and you can’t try to do anything too early. You’ve got to complete the whole process. It didn’t go the way we wanted it to.”
Beckham sounded like he understood why it was overturned, but was unhappy with the decision all the same. Eli Manning, the man who threw him the would-be touchdown, was not surprised when the call was overturned.
“Just looking at it, it’s kind of the way the rule is making the football move, especially in the end zone,” Manning said, “You’ve got to have it the whole time, and so I wasn’t surprised after seeing the replay.”
Linebacker Mark Herlizch said that Beckham can use the play as motivation, but that he shouldn’t blame himself for the team’s loss, via James Kratch of NJ.com.
“It’s not Odell’s fault,” Herzlich said. “This is why football is the best sport, because nothing falls on one guy, regardless. One guy can’t score 50 points a game. It takes all 11, every single play of the game. It’s not his fault, it’s not any one person’s fault.”
After the failed touchdown from Beckham, the Giants were forced to settle for a field goal, giving them a 26-24 lead. But the Patriots launched a comeback in the final two minutes and hit a field goal as time expired for the 27-26 win. The Giants fell to 5-5 on the season, though they still sit in first place in the NFC East.
Beckham may have come up short on that play, but the young receiver has been excellent this year. He has caught 63 passes for 863 yards with eight touchdowns on the season. He is averaging 86.3 yards per game and has 271 yards after the catch.
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