WR Odell Beckham Jr. (10.4.20)
WR Odell Beckham Jr.:
On how was nerve-wracking it was as the Cowboys almost came back in the fourth quarter:
“Not really at all. Just knowing we had a football game we have to put away. I think we could find a way to not put ourselves in that position offensively, and defensively, come up with the stops and offensively keep the drives going. That is NFL football. The game is never over. From my experience, I have seen games like that happen and lose. I am just happy we found a way to win.”
On his 50-yard TD run to help seal the win:
“It is funny. (RB) Kareem (Hunt) before the play was like, ‘We just need five yards.’ (TE) Harrison Bryant, the rookie is giving me advice and coaching me up, telling me to stay in bounds. I said ‘Thanks, rook.’ I turned the corner and everybody was blocking, and it was weird. I was about to slide, and I just turned the jets on and got in the end zone.”
On how personally producing at a high level today felt and if he was waiting for a breakout game like today:
“I just want to be able to help. I just want to be able to help in any way I can. I want to be able to be efficient and just help this team find ways to win. That is really what it boils down to. There is something special about being part of a win, being part of the team and helping win. That is all my goal ever has been. I have a lot of history with the Cowboys. My family is from here and everything. I don’t know. There is just something about being in this atmosphere and this stadium. It is not like it is not always like that, but I just want to be great so just find ways to help us win.”
On catching a TD pass from WR Jarvis Landry:
“It puts like a hold on any words that I could think of or think for you to say. Not that it is not special to catch a touchdown pass from (QB) Baker (Mayfield) or catch a touchdown pass in general, but literally, as I watched Jarvis throw the ball, it reminded me of being outside of WCA 804 as we would just sit there and talk for hours and throw back and forth. It felt like a joke and not in a bad way, it just felt unreal to be looking him in his eyes and he is just throwing it and I am just smiling, like I felt like he already has his finger up and I am pointing at him. I would not trade that play for any amount of touchdowns in the game or if I was the one to throw it to him. That is my brother, like for real and for real life. I got his back forever, and he’s got mine. It was an amazing feeling.”
On his reaction when the Landry TD pass was called in the huddle, given Head Coach Kevin Stefanski said the team had been waiting to use that play for a significant amount of time:
“We were just ready for it. I pressed Coach about it. I gave him hell because we kept running it in practice, and I told him either you have to stop running it in practice or you have to call it. He was like, ‘Alright, I got you then.’ He calls it – touchdown. It could not have been a better time.”
On whether he scored every time the Browns ran the trick play in practice:
“Every time. Walkthrough, practice, I am running that play full speed. To be on the same team with him is one, to catch a touchdown from him is another. These are moments that we will look back on at 50-60 years old as old men and be able to really feel fulfillment, I guess, would be the word. That is truly special. It goes down as one of my favorite plays in my entire career.”
On whether he and Landry said anything to each other in the end zone or sideline immediately after the touchdown:
“No need. Me and him have this thing, we can just look each in the eye and I have said a thousand words. Like I said, this is my brother. I have his back forever. It is just truly special.”
On posting his first career rushing TD:
“We just needed a play, and it just came at the right time. It was like everybody had a hat on a man. It felt like a punt return or a kick return or something. It could not have been blocked any better. Perfect time to call it. Just put the game away. Let’s go home. It is on to Indy. There is nothing else to talk about. We have Indianapolis. We need another win. It is the only focus.”
On how exhausting the players were on both sides of the field toward the end of the game, given the high tempo offenses and the speed on the field:
“It definitely was that. It is tough. Like I said earlier, NFL games are never over. From what I have seen in my experience from games I have been a part of, it is just never over. Great film to go watch to be able to have coaching points and to be able to make adjustments for down the road that we put these games away and we do a couple more QB kneels and victories a little earlier and just be able to get out of there. It is a great win, a great finish off to the [first] quarter of the season. We just have to keep it moving. Like I said, we are onto Indy.”
On if today’s win ranks ahead of his return to MetLife Stadium last year:
“Yeah, I wasn’t playing the Giants. It is cool to be back in the stadium and it is all good, but Dallas since growing up has been one of my favorite teams. Playing against them, going to the Giants and playing against them every year, it was almost like a dream come true. Everybody knows the Dallas Cowboys. It is just a special place. I started my first college game here. My first rookie game was here. Anytime I get to return here is definitely a cool environment.”
On today being his first multi-TD game with the Browns and if this game serves as a reminder that he is an elite NFL playmaker, understanding his main focus is winning and he played with injuries last year:
“All I can say is that it is tatted on my neck, ‘I am who I am.’ I have not stopped being that. Last year was an injury, and this year I feel good. Like I said, I just want to be able to help. This game, I get choked up about it because it means that much to me. I put my heart and my soul into this. That is why you see the emotions on my sleeve. It is because I care that much. Like I keep saying, I just want to be able to help in any way. Big prayers up for (RB Nick) Chubb right now. Anytime you see your brother go down, it is never a good feeling. I am just praying that he gets healthy and we can have him back soon.”
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