INQUISITR.COM / Sports

New York Giants Should Trade Odell Beckham Jr. After Selfish Attitude Nearly Costs Team A Win

By Jason Fletcher
Published on: 08:04 PST, Oct 17, 2016

The New York Giants broke a three-game losing streak on Sunday by overcoming a fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Baltimore Ravens, 27-23, as reported by the New York Daily News. It turned out to be a key victory because the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins both won on Sunday. Had the Giants lost, they would be sitting three games behind the division-leading Cowboys and two games behind the second-place Redskins, with Washington holding the head-to-head tiebreaker.

For the majority of the game, the Giants’ offense was stymied by the Ravens’ defense, but there were two plays that ended up being the difference in the victory. With 2:10 remaining in the third quarter, quarterback Eli Manning found wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. streaking down the right side of the field and dropped a pass right into his arms. Beckham would take it the rest of the way for a 75-yard touchdown to give the Giants a 17-13 lead.

After Terrance West had scored on a two-yard touchdown run with 2:04 remaining in the fourth quarter to put the Ravens ahead, the Manning-Beckham combination struck again. On fourth-and-1 from his own 34-yard-line, Manning hit Beckham on a slant route that Odell was able to take to the end zone for the game-winning 66-yard touchdown.

In total, Odell Beckham Jr. finished with eight catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns. It was by far Odell’s best game of the season and a performance that the New York Giants would like to see him repeat more often.

Despite the Giants’ big victory, and Beckham Jr.’s big game, the focus today isn’t on the success on the field. Instead, Odell once again found a way to make everything about him.

On the first touchdown, Beckham Jr. easily could’ve been flagged for taunting after he started waving at Ravens safety Eric Weddle before he reached the end zone. Luckily, the referees decided not to throw the flag on Odell which would’ve forced the Giants to move 15 yards back on the ensuing kickoff.

Beckham Jr. wasn’t so lucky following the second touchdown as he ripped his helmet off to celebrate in the end zone. This time, the referees didn’t let Odell get away with it as they threw the flag for excessive celebration. Because of his inability to contain his emotions, Beckham Jr. put his defense in a much tougher spot on the final drive.

Despite the flag, Odell Beckham Jr. continued his celebration when he went to the sideline and jokingly proposed to a kicking net which was broadcast on the Jumbotron for the entire stadium to see. This was the same kicking net that he hit in anger a few weeks ago that had bounced back and hit him in the head.

While I certainly don’t have any issues with Beckham Jr. celebrating a game-winning touchdown, he has to understand that he can’t put the rest of the team in these predicaments. When things are going well for Odell, he’s getting taunting or excessive celebration penalties, but when things aren’t going well, he’s getting unnecessary roughness penalties or complaining on the sidelines.

Beckham Jr. is easily one of the top-five wide receivers in the NFL based on talent alone, but his continued selfish attitude and look-at-me persona isn’t going over well. Football is a team game, but Odell has an issue realizing that as it always seems to be about him and his struggles and success rather than what’s best for the team.

If I were Giants general manager Jerry Reese, I would be looking to trade the talented wide receiver. Reese should get a pretty solid haul from some gullible team out there, but it would be as much about addition by subtraction than what the Giants would receiver in return. Odell Beckham Jr.’s antics just can’t be tolerated anymore if the New York Giants want to return to being a championship organization.

[Featured Image by Elsa/Getty Images]

Share this article: New York Giants Should Trade Odell Beckham Jr. After Selfish Attitude Nearly Costs Team A Win
nfl Odell Beckham Jr New York Giants
More from Inquisitr