So the highly anticipated Jalen Ramsey-Odell Beckham Jr. did not produce the fireworks we were all expecting. The two even traded compliments in the run-up to the game and then jerseys after Jacksonville’s 20-15 win at a soggy MetLife Stadium.
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Hooray sportsmanship, or whatever, but let’s be honest: That’s not what we came for. This matchup wasn’t hyped up because these two of the very best players in the league; it was hyped up because they are two of the most temperamental players in the league. We like to feign outrage when a receiver-corner matchup devolves into a bar fight – see: Norman vs. Beckham, 2015 – but, really, we can’t get enough of it. That one game provided us with at least two years of content.
While the lack of extracurriculars may have been a major disappointed, I’m happy to report the on-field matchup was not. We may not have seen the two get into it, but they still managed to put on a show for those fans who just enjoy awesome football players competing against one another.
The final numbers flatter Beckham, who finished with 5 catches for 75 yards with Ramsey on him in coverage. But that’s not an accurate reflection of the matchup.
In order to properly judge the matchup, we reviewed the film. In all, we charted 27 plays with Ramsey lining up across Beckham before the snap. We scored all 27 of those snaps on a 0/0.5/1 scale. On plays with no clear winner, each guy was given a 0. On plays where one guy had a slight advantage, a score of 0.5 was given. Clear wins earned that player a 1.
( You can find a log of each play along with a video clip of the all-22 here, and score the matchup for yourself.)
Before we get to the film, we can pretty much throw out 16 of these snaps for a variety reasons. The Jaguars played a lot of zone defense on Sunday, so there were plenty of plays where Ramsey would line up across from Beckham but end up passing him off to a teammate. For example…
</div> <p>We also scored pick plays as neutral. And those plays accounted for pretty much all of Beckham’s yardage with Ramsey in coverage, which is why his stat line is so deceiving. Here’s an obvious example with Sterling Shepard taking out Ramsey and freeing up Beckham for an easy chunk play…</p> <div style=”position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%” class=”embed-gfycat”> <iframe allowfullscreen=”” style=”position:absolute;top:0;left:0;” height=”100%” width=”100%” scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ src=”https://gfycat.com/ifr/ConfusedIndelibleBushbaby”/> </div> <p>And another one: Here Beckham picks up 18 yards after running Ramsey through traffic out of a bunch set…</p> <div style=”position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%” class=”embed-gfycat”> <iframe allowfullscreen=”” style=”position:absolute;top:0;left:0;” height=”100%” width=”100%” scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ src=”https://gfycat.com/ifr/LimpingPepperyGraywolf”/> </div> <p>There isn’t much Ramsey can do in that spot, but he’ll have to get used to dealing with these tactics throughout the season. It sounds like the Jaguars secondary is well aware of this.</p> <div> <p>”That’s what teams are gonna do against us from now on,” <a rel=”noopener” target=”_blank” data-track-label=”inline|intext|n/a” href=”https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/09/09/odell-beckham-jr-jalen-ramsey-giants-jaguars-nfl-week-1″>Jags safety Barry Church told SI.com’s Conor Orr</a> after the game. “Pick routes, some [type] of rub routes to get that press coverage off of you. It’s tough to get off the ball when you have Jalen Ramsey right there on you. But they did a good job of getting the ball in [Beckham’s] hands so he could get yards after the catch. But I felt like, for the most part, we bottled them up.”</p> </div> <p>In all, 55 of the 75 yards Beckham racked up with Ramsey in coverage came on those pick plays. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the Jaguars corner won the matchup. There were plenty of times Beckham was able to beat him without the help of his teammates.</p> <p>At the end of the second half, Beckham’s speed sent Ramsey into panic mode, which resulted in a pass interference call …</p> <div style=”position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%” class=”embed-gfycat”> <iframe allowfullscreen=”” style=”position:absolute;top:0;left:0;” height=”100%” width=”100%” scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ src=”https://gfycat.com/ifr/MintySingleCony”/> </div> <p>A few plays later, Beckham got a step on Ramsey in the end zone with some crafty route-running, but pressure forced Eli Manning to throw high…</p> <div style=”position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%” class=”embed-gfycat”> <iframe allowfullscreen=”” style=”position:absolute;top:0;left:0;” height=”100%” width=”100%” scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ src=”https://gfycat.com/ifr/CreamyPositiveDaddylonglegs”/> </div> <p>Beckham’s best play took advantage of Ramsey’s leverage. The Giants star snapped off a crisp out route that turned the Pro Bowl corner around…</p> <div style=”position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%” class=”embed-gfycat”> <iframe allowfullscreen=”” style=”position:absolute;top:0;left:0;” height=”100%” width=”100%” scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ src=”https://gfycat.com/ifr/PerfectKindHochstettersfrog”/> </div> <p>On the day, we gave Beckham three “clear wins” and three plays where he had a slight advantage for a final score of 4.5.</p> <p>How did that compare to Ramsey? There were certainly a few snaps where he smothered Beckham. Here’s one where Ramsey was given a clear win…</p> <div style=”position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%” class=”embed-gfycat”> <iframe allowfullscreen=”” style=”position:absolute;top:0;left:0;” height=”100%” width=”100%” scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ src=”https://gfycat.com/ifr/ObviousDismalElephantseal”/> </div> <p>And here is Ramsey’s other clear win, which came against a deep comeback route that resulted in absolutely no separation…</p> <div style=”position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%” class=”embed-gfycat”> <iframe allowfullscreen=”” style=”position:absolute;top:0;left:0;” height=”100%” width=”100%” scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ src=”https://gfycat.com/ifr/TornExcitableGlassfrog”/> </div> <p>In addition to those two clear wins, Ramsey picked half-points on five other plays. That works out to … 4.5 points.</p> <p>We have a draw!</p> <p>That’s pretty lame, but nobody really dominated this matchup, so it wouldn’t rally feel right to declare an outright winner.</p> <p>If we were forced to give out a W, though, we’d go with Ramsey. He followed Beckham all over the field, including seven snaps in the slot, and the Jaguars never felt the need to give him help. 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