JERKY BOYS
Matthews: OBJ a pal from commercial shoot
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Odell Beckham Jr. has a big fan in Packers linebacker Clay Matthews, and not just because of Beckham’s eyepopping skills on the football field.
The Green Bay star raved about Beckham as a person Wednesday, saying he considers the Giants wide receiver to be a friend after the two shot a TV commercial together in the offseason.
Matthews at times sounded almost regretful that he and the rest of the Packers defense will be tasked with stopping Beckham and the Giants on Sunday in their NFC wild-card matchup at Lambeau Field.
“I got to meet him for the first time outside the football field on the Jack Links [beef jerky] commercials, and he seemed like a great guy,” Matthews said. “We really hit it off.”
Matthews also revealed Beckham asked to swap jerseys with him on the field after the Giants’ 23-16 loss here in October. Matthews said he would have done so happily if not for Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy mak- ing such swaps by his players punishable by a hefty fine.
“He asked for my jersey, but I wasn’t ready to take that fine,” Matthews said. “But he’s always been a great guy to me, and I have nothing against him.”
Matthews has to put that friendship with Beckham aside this weekend to concentrate on helping the Packers extend their sixgame winning streak, although a slew of injuries to the Green Bay secondary could give Matthews’ buddy the upper hand Sunday.
The Packers lost three cornerbacks to injury in their Week 17 win over the Lions and are so shorthanded that they were forced to promote rookie corner Herb Waters — a converted wide receiver — from their practice squad Wednesday.
Green Bay’s comeback from 4-6 to NFC North champion was fueled in large part by a stunning re- surgence by the defense, which rebounded from giving up 40-plus points in consecutive games to forcing 15 turnovers during its current six-game win streak.
“What we’ve been able to do these past couple of weeks has been remarkable,” Matthews said of the defense. “We’ve been doing a great job of getting the ball out and creating a lot of turnovers.”
Creating turnovers has also helped create a lot of momentum, something Matthews and the Packers know from experience can produce memorable outcomes. Green Bay, after all, won a Super Bowl in 2010 as the NFC’s lowest seed.
“A lot of low-seeded teams that are hot late in the year kind of carry that momentum into the playoffs, and you see a lot of those teams come out Super Bowl champions,” Matthews said. “It’s no different than our 2010 season. We’ve been treating every game like a playoff game, and hopefully, this game is no different.”
Even if the opponent is led by one of Matthews’ new best friends.