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Odell Beckham Jr. has been a source of frustration for many New York Giants fans since May. First because Rodger Goodell announced the LSU wide receiver as the Giants' first round draft choice instead of Zack Martin or Aaron Donald.
Then, as Giants fans who were pulling for Martin or Donald were getting used to the idea of Beckham being a Giant, he injured his hamstring in the off-season program. That started months of frustration as he would show off his great hands on the side, but never could quite get healthy.
After the season started, Beckham's hamstring almost became a running joke as "He's getting closer" articles were written almost every other day.
Well, agonizing wait for Beckham, the Giants, and fans ended today as the rookie wideout made his NFL debut.
And what a debut it was.
Beckham started his day with a sliding catch to convert a first down on a 2nd and 7 in the first quarter. That conversion lead to the Giants' first score of the game. That, drive, however, would prove to be the lone bright spot for the Giants in the first half.
Following Rueben Randle's touchdown catch, the Giants appeared to be almost flat-lining, and certainly sleepwalking in all phases of the game.
It was Beckham (and fellow rookie Andre Williams) that would provide the spark that would jump-start the entire New York Giants football team. Following the Falcons' second -- and final -- touchdown in the third quarter, Eli Manning's first pass was a deep attempt to Odell Beckham. It fell incomplete, but Beckham blowing right bye the defender injected some energy in the Giants offense.
A second attempt drew a 26-yard defensive pass interference penalty that moved the Giants deep into Falcons' territory and forced the Falcons to respect Beckham's speed and rotate a safety over the top. That helped to open up the running game, and Andre Williams' thundering running put the Giants right back in the game.
Finally, Beckham's day -- which started with his first catch in the NFL -- culminated in this:
The 12th overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft snagged his first touchdown, a 15-yard leaping catch to put the Giants up and give them their first winning record since 2012. After months of frustration, Odell Beckham finally hit pay dirt.
Today was a banner day for the Giants' 2014 draft class, and for one in particular, well worth the wait.