New York Giants: Odell Beckham Jr. Scores TD, Tears ACL in SB LVI

The former New York Giants wide receiver is again at the center of the NFL world after his Super Bowl LVI performance.

Odell Beckham Jr. is finally a Super Bowl champion.

Beckham Jr.’s championship legacy will forever be immortalized as the LA Rams narrowly beat the Bengals 23-20 to win Super Bowl LVI.

The New York Giants’ former All-Pro receiver had quite a performance in his Super Bowl debut. He started off the game’s scoring with a touchdown on his first catch during the Rams’ 2nd offensive drive of the game. Beckham ran a corner fade route from the right slot and Stafford hit him in stride for a perfectly thrown ball in the end zone for six.

Odell went 17 yards for the score and broke out a familiar TD celebration.

Along with hooking up his boy, Drake, with a HUGE payout on his Odell touchdown bet, Beckham went back to his New York ways and hit the Michael Jackson moonwalk. He eerily did the same touchdown dance back in 2016 during the New York Giants’ 10-7 win over the Cowboys on SNF where Odell’s lone TD was the difference in the game.

Beckham went on to make another huge difference in the Rams’ second touchdown drive to go up 13-0. Stafford hit Odell for 35 yards to set up the score and it came on a tough 3rd & 11 situation from their own 24-yard line. Odell’s catch and run set up Cooper Kupp’s first of two touchdowns.

That would sadly be the last contribution we’d see from OBJ in the game.

On the next drive, Odell was thrown the ball to him and he had space to run. Instead, all hell broke loose and catastrophe struck Odell. Again.

Beckham turned to catch the ball and right as he did, his knee grabbed the turf and he instantly decelerated. He instantly crumbled to the cruel turf with a non-contact injury and immediately started holding the outside area of his left knee.

It was an all-too-familiar sight after seeing Beckham tear the same ACL on his left knee against the same team he previously did it against in 2020. Beckham was able to gingerly get off the field but it was obvious something was clearly wrong.

Beckham was ruled out for the rest of the game and cheered on his teammates on the sidelines in emotional fashion. Odell was visibly upset after not being able to help his team out and make some key plays in the biggest game of his life.

Beckham has had quite a dramatic, eye-opening past six months both professionally and in his personal life. Odell has juggled leaving a team he never even wanted to be a part of, he then joined a team that didn’t necessarily need him but would embrace him. He then also dealt with the excitement of soon becoming a father (which could happen any day this week).

His worst fears were confirmed Monday when tests revealed Odell had torn his ACL again, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Despite the injury, the Rams kept their composure for Odell and they got the job done when it mattered most. When the game’s result was confirmed, Odell’s best hopes were official and the high emotions of crying and happiness poured out.

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Just look at the raw emotion and how much this game meant to Odell.

Football has been bigger to him than most NFL players and people on the outside have long tried to alter that image. Odell Beckham is a Super Bowl champion and nobody can take that away from him. The New York Giants decided to move on from Odell, the Browns did the same. Odell has played through numerous broken bones and torn ligaments since 2017 and hasn’t gotten his due for his toughness. He could’ve quit on himself by now, but he never did.

It’s well-deserving for Beckham who’s now long been of the NFL’s superstars and marquee players. Beckham has gotten to the top of his profession and has earned honors for just about everything any NFL receiver could want to accomplish: Super Bowls, All-Pros, Pro Bowls, Rookie of the Year honors, NFL records, etc. He has proven himself to be authentic and not change who he is. Odell has always stuck to his ways and not let anyone be somebody he’s not. Odell chose to sign with LA and it was the best decision of his entire career.

Beckham could retire this offseason and elect not to go through another grueling offseason of intense rehabs and painful surgeries. He has now sustained 2 torn ACLs in 3 seasons, he could be mentally, emotionally, and physically drained from playing football while constantly rehabbing and dealing with injuries. This isn’t to say he will, but if Odell did hang up the cleats, it was one way to go out. As Frank Sinatra said, “I did it My Way”. If this is it for Odell Beckham, then he can walk away and can proudly say he always “The record shows I took the blows and did it My Way. Yes, it was My Way”.