Plays that could've changed everything for Odell Beckham Jr. and Giants
With one fourth-quarter pass, the narrative about Odell Beckham Jr. and the New York Giants could've been so different this week. All the talk about Beckham being a distraction to himself or his teammates, about the Giants throwing away a winnable game to the Washington Redskins, about Ben McAdoo's playcalling being questionable or the defense reverting to last year's form, would be nonexistent.
It all would have been so different if quarterback Eli Manning had seen that blur in a No. 13 jersey streaking down the left sideline uncontested on the first offensive play of the fourth quarter. Beckham was abandoned by his rival Josh Norman and the safety disappeared in an obvious case of miscommunication. One of the Redskins defensive backs botched their assignment on the play. Beckham was wide open.
It was an opportunity that doesn't come around often for a playmaker who typically faces two defenders on a play.
It's hard to point the finger at Manning on this one, though. The Giants ran a play-action pass. Manning faked the handoff and his primary option, Shepard, was running free across the middle. He delivered the ball on target to his rookie receiver, who then took a vicious illegal hit from Norman.
Norman was flagged 15 yards for unnecessary roughness. On this play, the Giants were already near midfield and the division rivalry matchup reached a new emotional level.
In a game filled with what-ifs and almosts, this happens with regularity. Quarterbacks don't see open receivers. But rarely does one missed opportunity serve as such a monumental game-changer to the narrative.
That drive ended on a Manning interception, followed by a Beckham sideline tirade instead of a 75-yard touchdown that would've changed everything.
The stadium would've been in a frenzy. The Giants likely would've been 3-0. The matchup that everyone came to see would have needed a mercy rule. It would've been game, set, touchdown dance Beckham.
Instead, this week has a much different feel because Manning threw another interception several plays later and on the final drive of a 29-27 loss. Beckham wasn't even targeted on any of the five plays on the final drive, even though Manning had another opportunity to hit him deep.
Norman on was peeking into the backfield on this incompletion with 1:19 remaining.
Norman had little-to-no chance to run with Beckham on this play if Manning had led him deep down the left sideline. Again, it didn't happen. The Giants were left with a rough loss and Beckham with a hazy memory.
"I don't remember," Beckham said to pretty much everything after the contest.
Something tells me it would've been different if Manning had spotted him down the left sideline on one of those two occasions. The narrative right now wouldn't be the same, either.
Other observations:
• The Redskins mixed their coverages, playing a good amount of soft zones (especially early) to protect their cornerbacks against the Giants' receivers. My guestimate after watching the film was they were in some type of zone on 12 of 17 first-half passes. They were in zone on close to 50 percent of the plays in the contest. So that Beckham-vs.-Norman matchup wasn't always Beckham vs. Norman.
In the second half, the Redskins did use more man-to-man coverage. That just so happens to be when Beckham did most of his damage. Five of his seven catches for 77 yards came in the fourth quarter alone ... and it could've been much more (see above).
• The missed opportunities to Beckham further highlight the discrepancy between the production of the Giants' wide receivers and the tight ends/running backs. The Giants' tight ends and running backs were targeted 17 times for 86 yards and two interceptions. Beckham, Shepard and Victor Cruz were targeted 21 times for 264 yards and a touchdown. Manning and the Giants might have been better served feeding their top weapons more, especially late in the game, when Manning's interceptions came on passes intended for tight end Will Tye and running back Shane Vereen.
• Bobby Hart made his second career start and held up reasonably well at right tackle despite allowing a third-quarter sack. He was matched against Redskins outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan most of the afternoon. Hart could receive another opportunity to start Monday night in Minnesota against the Vikings and, if he plays well against a tough defensive front, permanently take that job.
• After not allowing a pass of 20 yards or longer in the first three weeks, the Giants allowed five on Sunday. There didn't appear to be one reason for the sudden change. The first play was play-action and linebacker Jonathan Casillas looked to get sucked up too far. On the second, safety Nat Berhe blitzed and Landon Collins was matched one-on-one with the speedy DeSean Jackson. No contest. Collins appeared to drive hard on the short route as Jackson blazed past him for a long touchdown on the very next play, Berhe seemed to get lost on a long completion late in the first half and Redskins Pro Bowl lineman Trent Williams took out both Berhe and linebacker Keenan Robinson on Jamison Crowder's 55-yard touchdown on a screen pass. It was a fairly collective fail on the Giants' part.
• By my count, the Giants missed 11 tackles. Five came on Crowder's 50-yard punt return. The unofficial missed tackle count:
3: Berhe
2: Casillas
1: Eli Apple, Dwayne Harris, Orleans Darkwa, Olivier Vernon, Trevin Wade, Leon Hall
• The Giants' pass rush was inconsistent throughout the game. They had seven quarterback hits, but also allowed Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins too much time to regularly survey his options. It was almost as if they were taking turns creating pressure rather than doing it as a unit. And they need more from their interior pass rush.
Source: www.bing.com