How deflating can a loss get?
Odell Beckham Jr. and the Giants overcame so much Sunday, but Graham Gano’s last-second, 43-yard field goal gave the Panthers a 38-35 win at MetLife Stadium.
The Giants (6-8) trailed 35-7 and Beckham had no catches late in the third quarter. Panthers shutdown cornerback Josh Norman dominated the highly anticipated one-on-one battle with the Giants star receiver, and Beckham didn’t react well. He was flagged for a couple of cheap shots.
Odell Beckham Jr’s headshot on Josh Norman #NYGians #Panthers pic.twitter.com/4Ere7NhEGw
— The Sports Daily (@SportsDailyBlog) December 20, 2015
But Beckham provided more evidence that he could go down as one of the all-time greats, because the great ones come through even on a bad day. After being flustered for most of the afternoon, Beckham caught six passes for 76 yards and this game-tying touchdown with 1:46 left.
#Giants Odell Beckham Jr. beats Josh Norman for the touchdown pic.twitter.com/XuY6ODL9xr — The Sports Daily (@SportsDailyBlog) December 20, 2015
Beckham beat his nemesis for this 14-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-5 play. One play earlier, the Giants were given a second life when an apparent fumble by Eli Manning was reversed on replay.
It looked like the Giants could be the team to hand the Panthers (14-0) their first loss, and coming back from a 28-point deficit would have been one heck of a way to do it.
The problem was that Cam Newton, an MVP candidate, had 100 seconds to work with. He completed three of four passes and scrambled 10 yards to set up Gano’s game-winning field goal.
So instead of a victory for the ages, the Giants’ playoff hopes took a big blow and Beckham provided another classic Giants moment in a losing effort.