One thing is to debate from the sofa or in a bar about the magnitude of a spectacular sporting action and another to try to argue it scientifically. This November 23, 2024 marks the 10th anniversary of one of the most amazing plays in NFL history. That Sunday afternoon, rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (OBJ) of the NY Giants caught an ‘almost’ impossible ball to complete a legendarytouchdown. It seemed that quarterbackEli Manning had gone overboard with a powerful missile. But OBJ managed to arch his body and stretch out his right arm to grab the ball with three fingers before it went out of bounds, when he no longer had it in his field of vision.
Despite his struggle with Dallas Cowboys defender Brandon Carr – the closest referee threw the yellow flag for a foul – Beckham Jr managed to fall on his back in the end zone with the ball already secured in his lap.
Tyreek Hill falls hard on his back after getting clotheslined by Odell Beckham Jr. and gets injured
“The best of all time,” commentators and fans rushed to call it during the slow-motion replays during the broadcast. But there are too many variables, starting with the level of the game or the consequences of the play on the final result. That action came in the second quarter of a regular season game that ended in a Giants loss.
LeBron James, an extraordinary NBA player, although a simple NFL fan, wrote euphorically on his Twitter account (now X): “I just witnessed possibly the best reception ever made, by Odell Beckham Jr.!”
“I haven’t made any that compare to this one in my entire career,” said former player and commentator Randy Moss, who played the same position as OBJ for 14 seasons with 982 receptions and 156 touchdowns. It was already, at least, a starting point from the experts in the game.
For others, however, it was an insult to equate this ‘inconsequential’ action with, for example, David Tyree‘s reception in the 2008 Super Bowl, which the Giants won in a Hollywood fairytale finish. That backup receiver completed Manning’s last desperate pass attempt by resting the ball on his helmet as he fell backwards. Four plays later, his team scored the winning touchdown, denying the Patriots a record that the Dolphins still hold since 1972: winning the title without losing a game.
It’s not uncommon to see one-handed catches in the NFL, one of OBJ’s skills as shown in some video of his college days. “I think I have to thank my mom for the long fingers,” he joked after that 2014 game against Dallas.
I think I have to thank my mom for my long fingers
But that action in his rookie year as a professional had more than just a genetic aspect. Some media outlets asked physicists, engineers and scientists for analysis based on the tracking of the images.
A NFL ball must weigh between 396 and 425 grams. According to the testimony of John Eric Goff, professor of physics and author of The Gold Medal Physics: The Science of Sports – as reported by The New York Times – Eli Manning’s pass traveled 55 yards (50 meters) in total because it was open to a corner. To stop an object of that weight flying at 74 km/h, Beckham had to exert an average of 4.5 kilograms of force – with his right index, middle and thumb fingers – during the two tenths of a second in which he controlled the ball, the New York newspaper explained.
“It’s just amazing,” said another physics professor, Chang Kee Jung, of Stony Brook University, noting that a football spins in the air at a rate of between 400 and 500 rpm. “He managed to catch it by its widest part.”
The accuracy of the spiral and the direct contact with the leather of the ball, rather than the seams that are just on the opposite side of the hand, facilitated the necessary friction for the catch. In addition, his left foot on the ground avoided excessive rotation, other experts added to the NY Times.
“I hope it’s not the best catch of all time,” Beckham Jr. confessed after that game in which he was already beginning to break precocity records, but which ended in defeat. Although his career was later conditioned by injuries, he won a Super Bowl in his only season with the Los Angeles Rams in 2022. After two receptions and a touchdown in the decisive game against the Bengals, Beckham Jr. had to leave the game with a sore knee. Afterwards, he cried with the final victory and the NFL paid him a nice tribute for his first major title. “OBJ, Super Bowl champion,” wrote the competition’s official account on a recreation of the 2014 catch, but with Rams colors and numbers.
OBJ’s first message on his Instagram (17.5 million followers) account is also from ten years ago. Alongside the photo of his spectacular reception with the Giants, the now Miami Dolphins player typed his rookie ambition in four words: “Just tryna be legendary“.
This post was originally published on here
