Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr. reintroduces himself to NFL with big plays
More than once during his first season with the Browns, receiver Odell Beckham Jr. dashed down the field and waved to signal he was open, trying to get the attention of quarterback Baker Mayfield.
On Sunday at Dallas, Beckham gave that wave to the entire league with his first three-touchdown performance in nearly five years.
As strange as it sounds, the three-time Pro Bowler turned in a breakout game. Beckham caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from close friend Jarvis Landry, pulled in a 4-yard score from Mayfield and ran 50 yards on a reverse for the game-clinching TD.
“I haven’t seen plays like that in the NFL in a long time,” Landry said of Beckham, also his teammate at Louisiana State. “Only special guys make those kind of plays.
“It should have never been a conversation that he was not an elite player any more. He’s always been an elite player.”
WEEK 5 PICKS: Do Colts or Browns get to four wins first?
SURPRISE, SURPRISE: 20 big surprises at quarter-season mark
After being traded by the New York Giants to the Browns in March, 2019, Beckham played hurt all of last season, then underwent surgery to repair a core muscle injury in January. He still caught 74 passes and went over 1,000 yards for the fifth time in six years, but scored only four touchdowns.
He fell just one shy of last year’s total in a 49-38 victory at AT&T Stadium, where Beckham reintroduced himself to the NFL.
“I’ve just been waiting,” Beckham said Thursday on a Zoom call. “I think I did joke with one of the coaches using that exact line. That’s something I don’t really worry about. I know what I can do, I know what I’m capable of. Just trying to find ways to keep this train rolling.”
Beckham, 27, didn’t let on, but offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt believes it was important to Beckham to remind everyone how good he is.
“I think so. He’s a very prideful player, he wants to be great,” Van Pelt said via Zoom. “Guys like that, when they don’t have a chance to show their greatness, kind of get frustrated at times. What a better stage than in Dallas to do it, big game and really pulled us through to victory. It does remind everybody of the talent he does have.”
Asked when he last saw Beckham this healthy, focused and comfortable, Landry said, “Probably college.”
“Last year he was dealing with a major [injury] that obviously he had to have surgery,” Landry said. “Coming into a new system, new team, all of these things and I think that that weighs on you, weighs on anybody, and he has handled it well. This year I think his body has kind of calmed his mind down from all the things that he had going on that he can go out here and perform at a high level."
Beckham agreed with that, mentioning that their days at LSU were before the dawn of the social media era.
“It’s just a different day and age now and this is probably one of the best spots I’ve been in,” Beckham said.
Another reason Beckham may be flourishing is the relationship he’s developed with coach Kevin Stefanski.
“Being able to understand the people that you’re here giving your day to, it goes a long way,” Beckham said. “There’s a great line of communication there. I feel like it’s always an open door, we can say things and there’s never any hard feelings because we know where each other’s heart’s at. We want to work and we want to be great. I can definitely say that’s a great relationship and looking forward to keeping that going.”
Stefanski called Beckham “dynamic” and said he has to find more ways to get him the ball in space. In four games, Beckham has 16 catches for 236 yards and three touchdowns, along with two rushes for 73 yards (both Sunday).
“When he’s in space and has the ball in his hands, the defense has a hard time getting him on the ground because he’s uniquely gifted in that way,” Stefanski said.
Cowboys pass rusher Aldon Smith learned that when Beckham eluded him on the reverse with 3:25 remaining. Landry described that stunner as “a 12-yard loss turns into a 50-yard touchdown in the blink of an eye.”
“I was running to try and block the safety and I felt like the crowd got really loud, so I was like, ‘That’s probably not a good sign,' '' left guard Joel Bitonio said via Zoom. “I thought he was going to get tackled in the backfield. There must be something about playing the Cowboys or something like that, he shines on the biggest stage.”
Plays like that remind Beckham why he fell in love with the game.
“Where I grew up, we called it, ‘Throw ‘em up, bust ‘em up.’ It was like every man for himself, you’re trying to score. It would be like 20 of us,” said Beckham, a New Orleans native. “If you get tackled you’ve got to throw the ball up. It was a game I learned to feel good with the ball in my hand and a bunch of people chasing you. On that play it was like a kick return, I had a bunch of lead blockers. Just happy we were able to put the game away right there.”
Beckham said it didn’t matter that he wasn’t named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. That honor went to Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon, who totaled 181 yards rushing and receiving and scored three times in a 33-25 victory over Jacksonville.
“Maybe if I’d scored two more times, I might have won it,” Beckham said. “I don’t think when you look back in 20 years, you’ll be like, ‘Oh, yeah, Week 4 of 2020, you won offensive player of the week.’ Not to say these accomplishments mean nothing, but I’m here for the long-term goal and long-term picture.
“I want to win championships. I want to look back on my career and leave the legacy that I wanted to leave.”