Rematch at the Meadowlands: In this corner ...
Here they go again.
Josh Norman vs. Odell Beckham, Jr.
In much-hyped boxing matches, the sequel often doesn’t come close to matching the thrill of the original encounter. Maybe that will be the case on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, when the matchup between Norman and Beckham, two of the NFL’s best — with hot history and months of trash-talking hype — headlines the game pitting the undefeated New York Giants (2-0) and winless Washington (0-2).
Oh, for the last time they matched up, in December, when all sorts of mayhem broke out.
In the end, it was advantage, Norman, who was then a member of the Carolina Panthers. Carolina won the game, and also got inside Beckham’s head like something awful. Simply put, the star receiver became unhinged and the needling from the all-pro cornerback surely helped send him over the edge.
Although neither player was ejected — somebody, maybe both, should have been tossed — from a game marred by repeated scuffling, Beckham was penalized three times and ultimately suspended for a game for a malicious hit — he peeled back and went head-first at Norman during one retaliatory act.
Norman was penalized twice during the game, then fined $26,044 for his two flagrant fouls.
Now Norman’s in Washington, thanks to a $75 million free agent deal that allows him to face Beckham twice a year in NFC East games.
There may be no end to the hype.
Although both players tried to downplay their matchup this week, it’s too late for that.
During the offseason, they constantly exchanged barbs in a war of words.
Ramifications from the last encounter were significant on several levels, including:
— Admonishment of the officiating crew headed by referee Terry McAulay, which let the game get out of hand.
— A new rule prohibiting teams from bringing non-football related props to the field, as the Panthers were said to incite Beckham by waving a black baseball bat at him as they trash-talked in a threatening tone during pregame warmups.
— A new rule that would automatically eject players who draw two flagrant personal foul penalties.
It sets quite the stage for Sunday, with warnings to deter any further WEE-type stuff are firmly in place — with heightened scrutiny on referee John Hussey and his crew, too.
The presence of Giants veteran wideout Victor Cruz might also be a factor. Cruz was injured and not in uniform for the brouhaha in December. But he’s back as a mentor type who can help calm OBJ down, if need be.
So here we go. Although a report surfaced during the week that maintained Washington — which didn’t match Norman exclusively on star wideouts Antonio Brown and Dez Bryant in the first two games — will align Norman to play Beckham one-on-one all over the field. It remains to be seen if it plays out that way. In the ultra-paranoid NFL, strategical leaks from inside the building can often turn out to be smokescreen gamesmanship.
And, of course, rematches rarely live up to the hype.
Also of note as Week 3 in the NFL rolls on…
Who’s hot: Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers quarterback heads to Philadelphia for the Keystone State Battle against the Eagles with a pretty good flow. Pittsburgh is scoring 31 points per game and Big Ben leads the NFL with 6 TD passes (3 INTs, 95.5 rating), throwing three scoring strikes in back-to-back weeks. He’s also dishing out advice, suggesting that Eagles rookie Carson Wentz needs to do a better job of protecting himself when given the chance to preserve his body. Roethlisberger should know, given injury woes over the years and much more of a willingness when he was younger to sell out his body.
Pressure’s on:Kirk Cousins. After leaping from worst-to-first in claiming the NFC East crown last season while riding the minimal-mistake wave that was Cousins, Washington heads into the Meadowlands staring at the prospect of 0-3. It didn’t have to be this way. Cousins’ blunders in crunch time against Dallas — including an end zone interception and an ugly, fourth-and-short overthrow — snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Yet beyond such mishaps, Washington is making it tougher on the quarterback by giving him minimal run-game support. Cousins was the NFL’s most efficient passer last season on play-action throws (129.1 rating), but according to ESPN research, now leads the NFL in non-play action dropbacks while his team averages fewer than 15 rushes per game.
Key matchup: Von Miller vs. Cedric Ogbuehi. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton leads the NFL with 732 passing yards…and he’s been sacked eight times, tied for the NFL high. After being sacked seven times in Week 1 against the Jets, the Steelers put him on the ground just once. Now the task for Ogbuehi, the young right tackle, will be to contain Miller, who is known to wreck a game plan with his relentless rush. The Super Bowl 50 MVP has continued that groove, leading the NFL with four sacks. In his past four games, dating to the AFC title tilt against New England, Miller has nine sacks and 10 quarterback hits. Ogbuehi, like Miller a Texas A&M product, is essentially a rookie who will be making just his third pro start. His actual rookie campaign in 2015 was limited to just 65 snaps after he tore an anterior cruciate ligament in his final college game, and the Bengals drafted him in the first round as a future foundation block. Well, that future is now.
Rookie watch: Cody Kessler. Rookie quarterbacks have been all the rave. Well, some of them. While Jared Goff, drafted No. 1 overall by the Rams, still rides the pine, Kessler will become the fourth rookie quarterback to start this season — and 26th quarterback to start for the Browns since the franchise was revived in 1999 — when Cleveland visits Miami on Sunday. Kessler, a third-round pick from Southern Cal, was supposed to be a long-term developmental project. Then fractured clavicles sidelined Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown. Rookie passers are 4-1 this season in the NFL (Wentz, Dak Prescott, Jacoby Brissett), but that is not to be viewed as an indication of the future results for Kessler, who opens against a defense that brings so much heat with a front four built around Ndamukong Suh.
Next man up: Brian Hoyer. Remember him? When last seen in action, Hoyer was quarterbacking the Texans, throwing picks aplenty in the first-round AFC playoff loss against Kansas City (4 INTs, 15.9 rating). Now Hoyer, having landed in Chicago, fills in for injured Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. The first start comes Sunday night in Dallas, but it could be an extended run as Cutler reportedly might miss approximately a month with his sprained thumb.
Stomach for an upset? It’s already panic time in Buffalo, where the Bills are 0-2 as Arizona visits, and Rex Ryan dumped O-coordinator Greg Roman. The promoted Anthony Lynn – who once played and coached under Mike Shanahan in Denver, and then coached on Bill Parcells’ staff – pledges a “ground and pound” brand of football that meshes with Ryan’s M.O. and conceivably takes better advantage of Shady McCoy. We’ll see. The Cards (1-1), playing their first road game of the season, were 7-2 away from home last season, including playoffs. When last seen on the road, they were clobbered at Carolina in the NFC title game. The stakes, nor the opponent, won’t compare on Sunday, but the Bills will be dangerous because they are desperate.
Did you notice? Todd Gurley is having a difficult time duplicating the rhythm of his impressive rookie-of-the-year campaign in 2015 (1,106 rushing yards, 2 TDs). He’s averaging just 2.7 yards per carry and gained just 98 yards on the ground in two games. Of course, it’s not all on Gurley. The Rams (1-1) head to Tampa as the only NFL team yet to score a touchdown, and the holes haven’t been there — to the point that Gurley says it seems he’s playing against 12 defenders. It probably won’t get easier on Sunday, when the Bucs (1-1) play their home opener with a revamped defense featuring active D-tackle Gerald McCoy and tackling machine Lavonte David at weakside linebacker.
Stat’s the fact: The Carolina Panthers carry an NFL-longest, 14-game home winning streak into Sunday’s game against the battered Vikings. More impressively, dating to last season they have scored at least 37 points in each of their past five home games. You’d have to go back to the 1952-53 Detroit Lions to find a team that has done that.
Say what? “I feel pretty good about my fundamentals. I’m a two-time USA All-Fundamentals (pick). First team. I have the helmets at the house. True story.” – Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, dismissing criticism amid the worst statistical start of his career (82.6 rating) for a Green Bay offense uncharacteristically ranked 29th for total yards.
Follow NFL columnist Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell
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