Sunday night ended in a familiar way for the Giants as they lost for the third straight week, but this defeat differed from the previous two in one respect.
As he promised in the days leading up to the game, wide receiver Odell Beckham never lost his cool on the sideline or on the field during the 23-16 loss to the Packers. Beckham caught five passes for 56 yards and a touchdown during the game and accentuated the positives of the previous week when speaking to reporters after it.
“They’ve been great,” Beckham said, via ESPN.com. “Sometimes you just have to go through some things to give you a greater appreciation of it all. To be able to come here on Sunday, Lambeau [Field], I mean, it’s literally a blessing to be on the field. Sometimes you just have to put things in perspective; my week has probably been one of the better weeks I had. It has been a short week, too. Amnesia. I don’t remember. Just keep it moving, man. We’re on a losing streak, and you gotta just snap out of it.”
Beckham went on to say no one should let anyone “steal your joy” and he showed off his new blissful state by referencing one of his previous meltdowns. After scoring his touchdown, Beckham gave a hug to the kicking net on the Giants sideline that he’d engaged in a misguided attack in Week Three before the kick retaliated by crashing into Beckham’s head.
“We hugged it out. Last time I hit him, he hit me back,” Beckham said. “I told him it was a good hit. I said from now on we can be friends. It is what it is. I’m having fun.”
Fun was in short supply for an offense that gained 219 yards all night in the latest disappointing performance in a season that’s seen little else from the group that was the Giants’ biggest strength last year. That’s a big problem, but at least they can spend this week trying to fix it rather than wringing hands about their star wide receiver’s latest tantrum.