Odell Beckham’s weird explanation after odd celebration

A road date with divisional rival Philadelphia was always going to be a tough test — and it proved that way as a late 61-yard Eagles field goal saw the Giants fall 27-24.

After only scoring 13 points in their opening two games, the Giants offence was looking for a spark and over the last few seasons that has been provided by star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

Beckham Jr came to life in the fourth quarter, catching not one, but two end zone throws in remarkable fashion to lead the Giants back into the contest. And boy was he excited.

After his first touchdown of the season, Beckham Jr decided to hop onto all fours and march around the back of the end zone before cocking his leg and appearing to pee on an invisible hydrant.

If you thought that celebration was weird, the explanation is even weirder.

The celebration clearly didn’t sit well with the referees who threw a flag and hit the Giants and Beckham Jr with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

The refs weren’t the only ones unhappy with the star Giant. “We don’t want to be kicking off at the 20-yard line,” Giants coach Ben McAdoo said. “That’s not smart football.”

Only three teams in NFL history have recovered from an 0-3 hole to make the playoffs.

Through three quarters the battle between the Giants and Eagles was a lacklustre affair. The Eagles had managed to contain the Giants and held a 14-0 advantage as the final quarter got underway.

Luckily for the fans things exploded during those final 15 minutes. Eli Manning connected with Beckham Jr. twice and then found Sterling Shepard for his third consecutive touchdown throw to give the Giants a 21-14 lead.

After exchanging field goals and the game tied at 24-all, the Eagles QB Carson Wentz drove into enemy territory and left kicker Jake Elliott a 61-yard field goal chance to claim the win.

His kick sailed high and long and over the bar as the clock expired to push the Eagles to the top of the NFC East division.

THE TRUMP EFFECT

After President Donald Trump lashed out at NFL players for either kneeling or sitting during the national anthem on the weekend — labelling them “sons of bitches” — more players and officials than ever before joined together in solidarity against Trump.

At this stage, more than 200 players have chosen to protest — that means about one in eight did not stand for the anthem over the weekend. Last week the number was six.

The first mass demonstration took place at the NFL’s London showcase between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens at Wembley Stadium, where a large number of players from both teams knelt.

In Nashville, neither the Seattle Seahawks nor the Tennessee Titans took to the field to observe the national anthem.

“We will not stand for the injustice that has plagued people of this colour in this country,” Seattle players said in a statement just prior to kick-off.

The Pittsburgh Steelers remained in the locker room as the national anthem played before their game with the Chicago Bears. Coach Mike Tomlin stood by himself on the sideline.

Tomlin had said before the game that Pittsburgh’s players would remain in the locker room and that “we’re not going to let divisive times or divisive individuals affect our agenda.”

Buffalo Bills star Lesean McCoy, who stretched on the turf during the anthem, said: “I can’t stand and support something where the leader of our country is acting like a jerk.”

In Detroit, meanwhile, the singer of the national anthem Rico LaVelle dramatically dropped to his knee at the end of his rendition. At least eight Detroit Lions players were seen kneeling during the anthem while others linked arms.

Trump responded to the protests on Twitter. “Standing with locked arms is good, kneeling is not acceptable,” he wrote.

COMING UP CLUTCH

If the Superbowl last year taught us anything it’s that you’re never out of the game, no matter what the scoreboard tells you. Week three cemented that fact as four out of the 13 games went all the way down to the wire before a clear cut winner emerged.

Tom Brady continues to do incredible things with a football in his hand, this time leading the Patriots from five points down with only 2:24 left on the clock.

Only two teams remain undefeated after three games and the Atlanta Falcons should be counting their lucky starts they’re one of those teams. The Falcons led 30-26 with only 12 seconds remaining, but had their backs against the wall as the Detroit Lions lined up for the winning touchdown from the one-yard line.

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford threw a laser pass to receive Golden Tate who stumbled before crossing the goal line.

Unfortunately the play came under review from the officials who deemed that Tate had in fact come up just short and overturned the call on the field, resulting in the clock running out and handing the Lions their first loss of the season.

At Lambeau Field it was the visiting Cincinatti Bengals who held all of the early momentum after they managed to discover their offensive weapons for the first time this season.

Down 21-7 at halftime, Aaron Rodgers led the Packers back into the contest and threw the game tying touchdown to Jordy Nelson with 17 seconds remaining.

The Packers forced a quick punt in overtime before Rodgers connected with Geronimo Allison for a 72-yard gain that set up the winning field goal from Mason Crosby.

NFL Scores Week 3

Los Angeles Rams defeated San Franciso 49ers 41-39

Jacksonville Jaguards defeated Baltimore Ravers 44-7

New England Patriots defeated Houston Texans 36-33

Buffalo Bills defeated Denver Broncos 26-16

Chicago Bears defeated Pittsburgh Steelers 23-17

Atlanta Falcons defeated Detroit Lions 30-26

Indianapolis Colts defeated Cleveland Browns 31-28

Minnesota Vikings defeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-17

New York Jets defeated Miami Dolphins 20-6

Philadelphia Eagles defeated New York Giants 27-24

New Orleans Saints defeated Carolina Panthers 34-13

Tennessee Titans defeated Seattle Seahawks 33-27

Green Bay Packers defeated Cincinatti Bengals 27-24

Kansas City Chiefs defeated Los Angeles Chargers 24-10

Washington Redskins defeated Oakland Raiders 27-10

Dallas Cowboys vs. Arizona Cardinals — 10:30am Tuesday

Originally published as ‘I’m a dog, so I acted like a dog.’