EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- When the bar was set in the clouds against the Dallas Cowboys his rookie year, New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. had nowhere to go but down.
Beckham had four touchdown receptions in two games during the 2014 season against the rival Cowboys. And then there was "the catch."
By now, if you follow football even marginally, you’ve heard about that leaping, one-handed, behind-the-ear grab that thrust Beckham into an unforeseen iconic stratosphere.
Beckham’s second professional season included more eye-popping moments and record-setting accomplishments. He set the mark for most receiving yards (2,755) in his first two professional seasons. The encore just didn’t include the same individual success against the Cowboys.
Beckham had two of his three least productive games of the 2015 season against the Cowboys and cornerback Brandon Carr, the veteran he posterized back in 2014. After Carr said he was sick of talking about the catch, he limited the Pro Bowl receiver to nine receptions for 79 yards combined in the two matchups, in part because Beckham was limited by a hamstring injury in the second meeting.
Round 5 between Beckham, Carr and the Cowboys’ secondary comes on Sunday afternoon when the Giants and Cowboys meet at AT&T Stadium. It’s more of a challenge than before with Beckham working alongside promising rookie wide receiver Sterling Shepard and a now healthy Victor Cruz.
Still, in order to slow Beckham, the Cowboys likely will allocate multiple resources. Beckham one-on-one against any cornerback has proved a mismatch all summer long at Giants training camp.
Carr isn’t expected to follow him around the field on Sunday. That’s not usually how Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli operates. This puts the onus on the entire Cowboys' defense.
Beckham plays on both sides and in the slot as the Giants try relentlessly to keep the double teams off their best receiver. But when they can’t, at least now Beckham has some viable weapons at his side. Shepard, a second-round pick out of Oklahoma, has impressed this spring and summer. He looks like the real deal. Cruz also is expected to play for the first time in 700 days.
“You put two people on me and you have one-on-one with them, and I would take them one-on-one pretty much against anyone out there, so it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Beckham said earlier this summer. “I’m looking forward to seeing how you scheme it up or what exactly you do because I would love to get man-to-man. I would love to get two people on me -- that’s fine. Just throw it to somebody else. Just keep the chains moving and try and put up as many points as we can.”
The Cowboys' secondary (cornerbacks Carr, Morris Claiborne and Orlando Scandrick along with safeties Byron Jones and Barry Church) is a solid group. They finished fifth in the NFL last season in pass defense.
But they will have their hands full with Beckham & Co.
Scandrick against Cruz in the slot most of the afternoon alone should have its drama. Once upon a time, before serious knee and calf injuries shelved Cruz for 23 months, he claimed Scandrick “holds on every play.” This was in 2013, after Cruz was limited to two catches for 27 yards in a loss to the Cowboys. Only one of those receptions came against Scandrick, and Cruz had a fumble that was returned for a touchdown on the play.
Cruz versus Scandrick. Beckham versus Carr. It’s only part of the drama. Expect the Cowboys to pull out all the stops to deter a Giants receiving corps that looks significantly more dangerous than last year when the Giants had a hurting Rueben Randle and Preston Parker playing alongside Beckham.