You can debate all you want whether Odell Beckham Jr. technically “caught” a potential game-winning touchdown Sunday, but he knows there should never have even been any doubt.
The New York Giants wide receiver came close to snagging a go-ahead score with 2:02 remaining and the Giants trailing the New England Patriots 24-23. The superstar wideout had the ball in his grasp and came down in the end zone before Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler knocked the ball loose. The play was reviewed, and it was ruled Beckham didn’t complete the catch.
The Giants had to settle for a field goal, leaving plenty of time on the clock for the Patriots. The Patriots took full advantage, and Stephen Gostkowski kicked a game-winning field goal with one second to play.
Beckham thought it should have been a catch, but he knew he should have held on to the ball regardless.
“We lost the game. I lost us the game with the play in the end zone, a play that should have been made,” Beckham told reporters 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 a case of playing the play longer than the opponent.”
Beckham believed he actually did make the catch but also acknowledged the rules do provide some gray area.
“Yeah. I mean, I caught it,” he added. “I trust in my hands. 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 was pressed by a reporter on whether he was taking the blame for the loss.
“Yes. I didn’t catch the touchdown,” he answered. “We could have had a touchdown and made the Patriots go down and have to score and not put the kicker, who is one of the best kickers in the league, for a chance to kick an easy field goal.”
Thumbnail photo via Jim O’Connor/USA TODAY Sports Images
