MINNEAPOLIS — The Giants have no shortage of problems after a 24-10 loss to the Vikings here Monday night, but one is threatening to overwhelm their entire season: Odell Beckham Jr.
The Giants’ best player is now their biggest headache, thanks to Beckham’s continued inability to control his temper and avoid costly meltdowns and penalties that are driving even the usually mild-mannered Eli Manning to lash out.
Breakdowns all over the field and yet another doughnut in the turnover department from the Giants’ high-priced defense were huge factors in Big Blue falling to 2-2 at U.S. Bank Stadium, but Beckham — held to just three catches and a career-low 23 yards while picking up a first-half taunting penalty — ended up being the story of the night.
“He’s got to be aware,” Manning said afterward. “People are looking for him, and he’s got to play smart. You can’t afford to do anything or it’s going to be called. He’s kind of brought that himself, so he’s got to realize that. We can’t afford penalties that hurt the team.”
It’s starting to look like the Panthers and Josh Norman figured out the best way to stop Beckham during that notorious game at MetLife Stadium last December: Goad him early and relentlessly, then watch him melt down.
The Vikings appeared to follow that blueprint perfectly Monday night, with cornerback Xavier Rhodes jawing at Beckham from the outset.
While a physical act by Rhodes that should have been flagged (he hit Beckham out of bounds) finally set him off and resulted in the taunting penalty, a Beckham blowup seemed inevitable as soon as he showed an inability to ignore Rhodes’ taunts.
Beckham’s post-game comments Monday night also showed that he still doesn’t get it, either. He said he feels like he is in the NFL’s cross hairs now, with the officials just waiting to penalize him for the smallest infraction.
That might be true, but it’s Beckham who brought this marked-man status on himself with his inexcusable antics last December that the league rightfully intends to keep from happening again.
When the owners even followed up by passing something nicknamed “The Odell Beckham Rule” (an ejection for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the same game) and Beckham still didn’t seem to grasp it, you have to wonder if he ever will.
Monday night’s loss also showed the head games that opponents are gleefully playing with him are starting to affect his performance, too. He caught just three of his nine targets against the Vikings, including a couple of drops on tough plays that he made routine in his first two seasons.
Beckham also appeared to give up on a play after a miscommunication with Manning led to a crucial second-half interception, which wasn’t a good look and won’t go over well with Manning or coach Ben McAdoo.
The fact that Beckham melted down again just days after meeting with McAdoo about being a “distraction” — McAdoo’s word — the week before in a loss to the Redskins makes the situation even more worrisome. It also shows that McAdoo is no better at controlling Beckham than Tom Coughlin was.
Giants GM Jerry Reese had a lengthy meeting with Beckham in the locker room after Monday’s game, but you have to wonder if anyone can get through to Beckham.
Other observations from Manning’s fourth loss to the Vikings in five career trips to Minneapolis:
— McAdoo was correct after the game that focusing on forcing turnovers is not a sound philosophy on defense. But the Giants’ inability to force a single takeaway on defense in four games despite spending more than $100 million on remaking that unit in free agency has to be disconcerting. The Giants were among the league’s best teams at forcing turnovers last year, leading to an enviable plus-seven turnover margin for the season. So for them to fall off so dramatically in that category is puzzling and has to be considered a red flag. Part of it has to do with a pass rush that isn’t getting to the quarterback nearly enough to force strip sacks or bad throws that result in interceptions. The Giants have just four sacks in the first four games combined. Their secondary also has been ravaged by injury, and it’s hard to expect rookies or journeymen fill-ins to produce turnovers. Then again, maybe McAdoo is right: For all their extraordinary takeaway success last season, the Giants still finished 32nd in total defense, 30th in scoring defense and 6-10 in the standings.
— The nightmare of a fearsome Minnesota pass rush that had sacked Cam Newton eight times the week before overwhelming a shaky Giants offensive line never came to pass. Manning wasn’t sacked once. But that appeared to be by design as the Vikings caught the Giants off-guard with a surprisingly conservative defensive game plan that included few blitzes and several snaps in which Minnesota rushed just three defenders. It worked, too. All the defenders dropping in coverage forced Manning to dump off to his running backs and tight end Will Tye instead of Beckham, Victor Cruz and Sterling Shepard. Manning ended up throwing 20 of his 45 passes to Tye or a back.
— The Giants in general and tight end Larry Donnell in particular found out just how ferocious Mike Zimmer’s defense really is. Donnell was forced to exit in the first half with a concussion suffered while blocking in the middle of the line on a handoff. It wasn’t the type of play you ordinarily see result in a concussion, but Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr is no ordinary hitter. A former first-round pick, the 6-foot-5, 255-pound Barr is built like a tank and showed why he is going to be a perennial Pro Bowl pick if he stays healthy.
— The toll on Jason Pierre-Paul from his extremely heavy workload the first three games appeared to show itself. Coming off his best game since his fireworks accident the week before against Washington, Pierre-Paul was a non-factor versus Sam Bradford and the Vikings with just one solo tackle. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said last week that giving Pierre-Paul more time off to keep him fresh was probably in the cards. The time for that appears to be now.
— No rest for the weary: The Giants’ next five opponents are a combined 13-5.