New York Giants’ Offense Struggles, Plus Odell Beckham And Brandon Marshall Get Injured [Updated]
At halftime of last night’s preseason game against the Cleveland Browns, the New York Giants were having about as awful a game as they could possibly have. Their first team offense had struggled mightily to get anything going, as they trailed 7-3. To make matters worse, they had seen their two tops receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall leave the game with injuries.
It was only 40 seconds into the start of the second quarter when Eli Manning dropped back to pass, hitting Beckham for an 18-yard completion. However, Odell had to jump up to make the catch and as he landed Browns cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun delivered a nasty hit to the receiver’s legs. Beckham immediately knew he was injured as he took off his helmet and walked off the field.
However, as he was jogging to the locker room he stopped and curled in a ball while inside the tunnel, with the camera showing him writhing in pain, However, he was back on the sideline at the start of the second half, his night clearly over after having X-rays done on his leg. Luckily, for the Giants and Beckham, his injury was diagnosed as only a sprained ankle, with the X-rays coming back negative. He will undergo further tests on his ankle when the team returns to New York. When asked about the injury, Beckham said that “I think I’ll be alright.”
This hit on Odell Beckham Jr. was legal, but NFL players are not happy about it. https://t.co/bnmd0XGcBK pic.twitter.com/uThLHJ5lOJ
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) August 22, 2017
Brandon Marshall, the Giants big free agent addition, did not come out of the locker room after half time since he apparently injured his shoulder at some point in the first half. He also underwent X-rays but texted ESPN’s Adam Schefter this morning that he will be fine. The Giants also saw backup receiver and special teams player Tavarres King left the game with a sprained ankle.
The Giants entire offense is designed around big plays passing the ball by utilizing Beckham, Marshall and second-year receiver Sterling Shepard. Once again, it looks like the team will have a non-existent running game since starter Paul Perkins only managed 10 yards on six carries last night.
Their first team offense only managed one first down last night, while their offensive line still looks shaky in both pass and run blocking. This factors made it even scarier for the Giants and their fans that Beckham and Marshall had to leave the game with injuries, even though they both appear to be okay.
Marshall’s X-ray results have also come back negative like Beckham’s did. Head coach Ben McAdoo said that both players are day-to-day as the team’s medical staff sees how they respond to treatment. McAdoo did decline to state if Beckham had a high or low ankle sprain, simply stating “It’s an ankle.”
Sources have now told ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jordan Raanan that the ankle injury may possibly keep Odell Beckham out of the team’s season opener against the rival Dallas Cowboys. According to one of the sources, it is “not out of the question he could miss a week or two of the regular season.”
[Featured Image by Joe Robbins/Getty Images]
