A game that was expected to be a shootout between the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants turned into a sloppy defensive struggle, but Odell Beckham Jr. was still able to put up good numbers. As far as one veteran is concerned, Beckham can thank the officials for that.
Following his team’s 16-13 loss, Saints defensive back Sterling Moore said the officiating crew working the game allowed Beckham to get away with pass interference. He said that happens “regularly” with the star wideout.
As Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post notes, Moore was furious when he was called for a questionable pass interference penalty while defending Beckham on 3rd-and-8 in the first quarter. Beckham caught a 13-yard pass on the very next play, and Moore felt the receiver should have been flagged.
“I didn’t like it, man,” Moore said. “It was one of those things where [Beckham] is trying to pull himself through. He does that a lot, and he kind of gets away with it at times. It’s something I mentioned to the refs. It is what it is.”
Beckham finished with a game-high eight catches for 86 yards. Moore told Hubbuch that yanking defenders and pushing off is “Beckham’s staple on those deep balls,” and the Saints asked Gene Steratore’s crew before the game to keep an eye on it.
“They obviously brushed it off,” Moore said. “It’s something he gets away with pretty regularly. I guess it’s something you’ve got to live with. … It didn’t surprise me that he was doing it. But it surprised me that they were letting him do it and were letting us go out there and play. I guess that’s how it’s going to be.”
Offensive pass interference is hardly ever called, so it’s even less likely to be called against a guy who is capable of making plays like this. Moore isn’t the only one frustrated by it, but that’s simply the way life is in today’s NFL.
Photo: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
