END IT LIKE BECKHAM
Odell’s 3 TDs KO Washington as Giants look to close out with style
THERE WAS a flash of brilliance from Washington’s former phenom. There was another shaky game from the Big Blue defense And there was a wild game-turning play just before halftime.
But mostly, there was Odell Beckham. And on this Sunday, yet again, that was all the Giants needed.
By the time Big Blue’s lone weapon was done, the Giants had defeated rival Washington, 24-13, at MetLife Stadium. Beckham’s latest show featured three touchdowns catches and another that was called back because of a penalty. He singlehandedly overcame another inconsistent performance from the rest of Tom Coughlin’s team.
The Giants managed a putrid 49 rushing yards, and they briefly let Robert Griffin III (236 passing yards, 46 rushing yards, one TD) channel his former greatness. But in the end, Washington (3-11) had no answer for Beckham, and the Giants (5-9) won their second straight, sweeping Washington for the second straight year and guaranteeing a third-place finish in the NFC East.
“Tough divisional game,” said Coughlin. “I’m glad we were able to hang in there and win it.”
It was Beckham who made that happen, scoring all three Giants TDs. With 1:22 left in the third quarter, on second-and-5 from the Washington 35, the rookie dynamo caught a slant over the middle and outraced an army of Washington defenders to the end zone, giving the Giants a 17-13 lead they’d never relinquish.
A quarter later, with 4:45 left to play, Beckham sealed the outcome, snaking in front of a helpless Bashaud Breeland to catch a 6-yard Manning bullet that put Big Blue up 24-13. He finished with 12 receptions, tied for secondmost in team history behind Tiki Barber’s 13, and 143 receiving yards.
He now has a Giants-record 972 receiving yards on the year, this after missing the first four games with a hamstring injury. It was his NFL-record seventh straight game with more than 90 receiving yards.
And it would have been better if his 30-yard TD catch early in the fourth quarter had not been nullified by a Justin Pugh holding call.
“He feeds an entire team,” Antrel Rolle said of Beckham. “He fuels a stadium. He’s an exciting guy to watch. He’s a helluva player.”
The Giants couldn’t stop QB Colt McCoy from leading Washington to a field goal on its opening possession, and after McCoy exited after reinjuring his neck, Griffin came in and dominated for most of the second quarter. The QB who once ran circles around the Giants but has fallen out of favor in Washington capped a seven-play, 77-yard drive with a 9-yard swing pass to a completely uncovered Chris Thompson with 4:07 left in the period, giving his team a 10-7 edge.
Griffin’s final drive of the half was even better, pushing Washington to the Giants 8. With eight seconds left, he was RG3 again, seeing nothing open and scrambling right, then diving for the end zone, where he was hit by Jason PierrePaul, who had run all the way across the field. JPP made enough contact to cause Griffin to bobble the ball as the QB reached for the pylon, causing the initial call of touchdown to be overturned on replay. Officials declared that the quarterback never reestablished control, resulting in a touchback. “I was upset that I ran all the way down there, and I thought he’d made the touchdown,” JPP said. “He spread out and reached. But it is what it is and he didn’t make it.”
“It was quite a feeling to go in (down) 10-7, rather than (17-7),” Coughlin added.
Washington’s feeling? Players and coaches were irate, most notably Santana Moss, who got in Jeff Triplette’s face with what the ref called “very very inappropriate language.”
Moss received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty and was ejected, resulting in another 15 yards. The penalties were enforced on the second-half kickoff, with the Giants kicking from the Washington 35. Washington had its hands team in, but the Giants rushed up and Josh Brown kicked a high ball that dribbled past the returners and was recovered by Chandler Fenner, setting up a 32-yard Brown field goal, the only Giants score not produced by Beckham. “It definitely helped us out, that’s for sure,” Rolle said of the two sequences.
With Beckham they didn’t need much more help. He has set the bar high for himself and his team, the saving grace of a lost season.
“There is a lot to look forward to going into next year,” he said.