The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Arizona Cardinals 34-11 in the NFC wild card round on Monday night, Jan. 18. Rams’ wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. made playoff history, becoming the first player to have a 30-yard reception and a 30-yard completion in the same game.
Odell Beckham Jr. is the first player in NFL postseason history to have a 30-yard reception AND a 30-yard completion in the same game. pic.twitter.com/s4z1Dpdm0o
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 18, 2022
Jackson State head coach and NFL legend Deion Sanders tweeted out what should’ve been obvious to everyone. OBJ is supremely talented and wasn’t the problem in Cleveland.
I guess @obj still has it huh ! ššš
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) January 18, 2022
OBJ caught four passes for 54 yards and a touchdown, and completed a pass for 40 yards on a trick play.
Early in the third quarter, head coach Sean McVay called a trick pass that had OBJ catch a lateral from quarterback Matthew Stafford before throwing to Cam Akers for a 40-yard completion down the sideline.
TRICK PLAY!@obj was doing it all last night! pic.twitter.com/uE2iOaaa1j
— NFL UK & Ireland (@NFLUKIRE) January 18, 2022
“The opportunity came up, I know I got to someone who’s easily gonna catch the ball,” Beckham said. “All I got to do is put it in the vicinity [to] Cam Akers, and he made the play.”
OBJ was seen as a problem in Cleveland, the reason Baker Mayfield and the offense struggled. So much so that he was released. The Browns offense continued to struggle and they failed to make the playoffs.
Meanwhile, OBJ has thrived in L.A. He had a solid finish to the regular season and that continued in game one of the playoffs.
OBJ scored seven touchdowns in two-and-a-half seasons with the Browns. Beckham’s touchdown to start the scoring against the Cardinals was his sixth touchdown in his ninth game with the Rams.
“I feel like I’ve gotten to a certain age where I’m a realist and not an idealist, and I understood the situation of what I was coming into in this team and everything that they were capable of,” Beckham said. “And it just feels amazing to get that win. Get the first one off your back. Now knowing it’s just time to put it together and make a run.”
His frustrating tenure with the Browns behind him, OBJ earned a $500K incentive for winning Monday’s wild card game. He could earn an additional $750K with a win in the divisional round.
Up next in the divisional round are the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady. Beating Brady in the postseason is a tall task. Vegas has the Bucs as the early favorites at -3.
The two teams played all the way back in week three, aĀ 34-24 Rams victory. The Rams threw 22 passes and ran the ball 10 times while building a halftime lead, and then blew the game open with a 75-yard touchdown pass in the first minute of the third quarter.
That was then.
The Bucs have some injury concerns along the offensive line and if the Rams are going to win this game they will need to get pressure up the middle from all-pro Aaron Donald and the rest of their defense.
The Rams brought in OBJ, Von Miller and other high-priced free agents with the goal of winning a Super Bowl. Slaying Brady and the Bucs will bring them one step closer.
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