Xavier Rhodes Knows From Experience Not to Let Odell Beckham Jr. Get in His Head
INDIANAPOLIS — Xavier Rhodes intends to keep his cool this time when going up against Odell Beckham Jr.
They’re four years older, and presumably wiser. They’re with different teams — Rhodes now a cornerback for the Indianapolis Colts while Beckham is a wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns.
But when the 3-1 AFC teams meet in Cleveland on Sunday, it’s difficult to imagine either player backing down or taking any trash-talk from the other without a response. They sure didn’t last time.
Tempers flared on Monday Night Football in 2016, when Rhodes was emerging as one of the NFL’s elite cover guys and made a primetime statement in shutting down Beckham. Rhodes, who was with Minnesota, limited Beckham, who was with the N.Y. Giants, to a career-low three catches for 23 yards in a 24-10 Vikings victory.
Rhodes was determined to match OBJ in every way, be it with physicality or his mouth. Rhodes hit Beckham twice after he had taken one step out of bounds. The first time it happened in the second quarter, Beckham ran back at Rhodes and gave him a bump, which resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting, and the receiver also made contact with an official. Beckham took a shot at Rhodes at the end of the next play.
After another sideline collision, Rhodes had to be restrained by an assistant coach. Yeah, as these highlights show, it was intense.
Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has earned a reputation for being one of the most talented and temperamental NFL playmakers.
Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports
Rhodes insists there's no need for their history to repeat itself.
“Nah, man,” he said Tuesday. “That was in the past, man. This is a new year. More than likely, we’re probably just going to go out there and play ball. We’re older guys and we’re just going to go out there and try to get the win.”
Suffice to say Beckham undoubtedly remembers. NFL players have long memories and are often motivated to get some payback.
Both teams have won three in a row. The Browns are off to their best start since 2001. The Colts are 3-1 for the first time since 2013.
The three-time Pro Bowl and two-time All-Pro wide receiver is coming off a monster game at Dallas, where he scored three times, twice on receptions and another on an end-around.
Rhodes laughed and shook his head as the anticipated question about Beckham was being asked in a Zoom video call.
“Oh my God, I knew that question was coming, sooner or later,” he said. “Odell is a great receiver, man, one of the top-five receivers in the league. With him, personally, you’ve just got to be mentally prepared because it’s going to be not only a mental battle but a physical battle, too.
“He can jaw and get in your ear and try to get in your head, so you’ve just got to be mentally strong and also know you’ve got to be physically strong, too, because he’s going to try to be physical with you at the line and down the field also.”
Colts cornerback Xavier Rhodes (27) celebrates his second interception in a Week 3 home victory over the N.Y. Jets at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports
Rhodes, named to the first of three Pro Bowls in 2016, also had an interception after Beckham cut off a deep route and crossed up quarterback Eli Manning.
Rhodes, 26 then, offered this post-game assessment.
“He tries to get to you by getting on you, fighting with you, trying to get you out of your game,” Rhodes said. “He's a very quick, very elusive player, so he can get out of his breaks pretty fast. You have to stay patient and stay on top of him. He can do some of both (talking to you and shoving you). There's no telling what you get out of him. He's a great player.”
Beckham, 23 then, was making himself known for emotional outbursts when he wasn’t making big plays. The week before that game against Rhodes, Beckham took his frustrations out on a kicking net on the sideline.
They ended up being NFC teammates at the Pro Bowl in Orlando a few months later in 2017, and appeared to get along just fine.
Who knows what happens on Sunday, but it should be interesting to watch.
(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)
