Rarely does a regular-season catch stand the test of time, let alone a catch in the second quarter of a regular-season game.
The Giants were 3-7 and quickly fading from the playoff conversation when Odell Beckham Jr. made a one-handed grab that does meet that description in 2014. New York lost the game, but very few fans remember the result — instead, they remember what Beckham did in the MetLife Stadium end zone.
The catch helped launch Beckham into stardom. The former LSU standout missed the first month of his rookie season with an injury, but he proved in the weeks leading up to the catch that he had star potential. It was on Nov. 23, 2014 that he moved from a rising star to a name brand, all before he finished his first season in the league.
Here's a look back at Beckham's famous one-handed grab against the Cowboys a decade later.
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Revisiting Odell Beckham Jr.'s one-handed catch
Beckham gave the Giants one of the few highlights of their otherwise lost season days before Thanksgiving with his catch on "Sunday Night Football."
With New York just past midfield at the start of the second quarter, Eli Manning heaved a pass in Beckham's direction to try to catch the Cowboys' defense by surprise. Dallas CB Brandon Carr actually stayed with Beckham, but he stayed with him a bit too well. Carr was called for pass interference, meaning the Giants would have turned it into a big gain even if Beckham didn't come down with the ball.
That Beckham was being interfered with makes the grab even more remarkable. Beckham hauled in Manning's pass with both feet off the ground and just one hand in the air, somehow clutching the ball with a few fingers and managing to hold on for the touchdown.
The score put the Giants ahead, 14-3, but the buzz it created wouldn't be enough to help New York sustain its lead. The Cowboys came back to win, 31-28, keeping their playoff hopes well on track.
What fans remember most from that November night, though, is still Beckham's iconic catch.
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Odell Beckham Jr. catch video
Beckham's grab came at the start of the second quarter in an eventual loss to the Cowboys:
November 23, 2014: The Catch. @obj pic.twitter.com/IXtAfUuMxv
— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) November 23, 2020
Where is Odell Beckham Jr. now?
Beckham is currently with the Miami Dolphins. He missed the first four weeks of the season due to injury but made his Dolphins debut in Week 5 and was held without a catch on two targets.
It might take some time for Beckham to get up to speed considering his injury history and the Dolphins' tumultuous quarterback situation with Tua Tagovailoa out, but the former Giants star's days as a Pro-Bowl caliber receiver seem to be behind him. Beckham tore his left ACL in both 2020 and 2022, derailing a career that started with such promise.
Beckham's Giants tenure ended with a surprise trade to the Browns in 2019. He left the Browns unceremoniously during the 2021 season and won a championship after signing with the Rams, though his second ACL injury came during the Super Bowl.
After sitting out the 2022 season as he recovered from surgery, Beckham joined the Ravens ahead of the 2023 season and nearly got back to the Super Bowl before Baltimore fell in the AFC championship.
The Dolphins don't look like they will fulfill their own Super Bowl hopes, but Miami would like Beckham to emerge as someone who can help get a struggling passing game back on track when Tagovailoa returns from a concussion.
