Odell Beckham Jr. of the Giants had one of the greatest catches you may ever see. He was being mauled by the defender--it was a penalty. He shook the mauling off, snatched the ball one-handed and landed on his back in the end-zone, not part of him out of bounds...
Check out the extension:
I was thinking about Giants catches in recent memory, and how this could stack up. The other two that fully come to mind are both part of the Lore of Eli, like that's a William Blake illustrated classic or something.
The first is, of course, the Super Bowl-swinging, never-happen-again-deliberately-if-you-were-trying Tyree helmet-catch:
Watching Eli avoid the sack, get free, launch a pass to the middle of the field, and then see Tyree trap it against his helmet? Ridiculous moments turning into incredible memories. We knew the Giants were winning at that point. Twenty seconds later when Eli found Plaxico in the end zone open for the TD, we weren't surprised.
The second incredible catch had less to do with luck or the skills of the receiver, but were a bit of a show that Eli himself was putting on: another Super Bowl moment, but one in which Eli was fully the narrator of: Manningham on the sideline during Giants/Pats II:
Perfect throw to a tight spot. I was in Honduras for that game, watching it at a hostel with lounge music playing over the muted television. I had the feeling the G-Men were in control after the safety on Tom Brady's first pass attempt. They coughed up the lead, but I always felt it.
Of course, we'll always have the other side of the Eli-Era coin, the side titled simply "Eli Face":
It shows up regularly after interceptions, dropped passes, or blown routes. So there's that, too...
If it weren't for Eli, Tom Brady may have five Super Bowls championships and be considered the best quarterback ever. That makes me laugh.
(I'm not sure who took all of these photos, but I appreciate their professionalism.)
