CLEVELAND _ There was only one thing from Monday night's game that Giants fans wanted to see less than their offense struggling to move the ball and score points in its fully armed preseason debut. But that's exactly what was on the screen during a nationally televised game against the Browns.
There was Odell Beckham Jr. on his knees in the tunnel outside the locker room, in obvious pain after limping off the field.
Gulp.
Nothing else in the game really mattered _ or will go further in impacting the regular season _ than the status of Beckham. Initial reports from the Giants indicated an ankle sprain (he also was evaluated for a concussion and cleared) but there will likely be batteries of tests in the coming days for the team's most dynamic playmaker and one of the NFL's marquee stars.
The injury occurred early in the second quarter when Beckham caught an 18-yard pass from Eli Manning. Browns safety Briean Boddy-Calhoun made the tackle by diving low at Beckham's left knee.
Beckham was slow to get up from the hit. He was clearly miffed by what seemed to be an unnecessarily low hit by the second-year defender in a preseason game, and Beckham spun the ball on the ground. He also removed his helmet and started to walk off the field before pausing and taking a knee in the middle of the field.
That was enough to launch a cavalry of trainers to get him off the field. Beckham was soon back on his feet, and he walked to the sideline under his own power. After a brief conversation in the team's bench area, Beckham put a towel over his head and began to walk to the locker room with a slight limp.
Perhaps sensing that the football world was breathlessly watching him, Beckham began to jog to the tunnel. When he got to the closed locker room doors, though, he slumped to the ground into a somewhat prayerful pose that many Giants fans were likely joining him in. That's where ESPN's Monday Night Football camera caught up with him and captured the troubling image. The trainers eventually reached him and brought him into the locker room for examination. He was later taken for X-rays.
It was the second time a Browns defensive back delivered a questionable hit on a Giants receiver. Earlier, in the first quarter, Manning lofted a deep pass down the right sideline for Brandon Marshall. The veteran receiver seemed to sense the convergence of ball and defender and pulled up rather than extend for the incomplete pass, but rookie Jabrill Peppers hit him hard and spun Marshall around awkwardly. A flag was initially thrown on the play but was picked up without a penalty. Marshall stayed in the game for the next series.
During the changeover following the Giants' field goal after the Beckham injury, Giants Pro Bowl safety Landon Collins made a beeline for Boddy-Calhoun to express his displeasure with the low hit. The two exchanged words and had to be separated by the officials.
