Michael B. Jordan tried to add an MBJ twist to the OBJ catch.
More than eight years after Odell Beckham Jr.’s iconic one-handed grab, Eli Manning tried to recreate the catch with a different receiver: Jordan, on the latest episode of “The Eli Manning Show.”
Jordan, Manning and former Giants center Shaun O’Hara participated in a short interview in the Giants’ locker room — where Jordan had a locker with a No. 4 jersey — before moving to MetLife Stadium for a series of routes, with the ode to Beckham’s catch coming at the end.
“This is a dream come true, to be on the field with you two, reliving and remaking these plays,” Jordan said. “I’m gonna take this with me the rest of my life.”
First, the trio watched a video replay of Beckham’s catch on the scoreboard, with Manning pointing out the different steps of the catch. Then, the episode overlapped broadcast calls as Jordan replicated the play, using two hands to make the catch and falling backward onto a red trampoline in the end zone.
“I’m not gonna lie: I didn’t think you’d be able to make some of these catches,” Manning said after the catch. “But that was one take. This is all live. This is legit. And you showed up.”
Jordan, who will make his director debut in addition to his role as star actor when “Creed III” comes out in March, said that he grew up in New Jersey and his uncle was a Giants fan, so he’d take him to games. Running back Tiki Barber was one of his favorite Giants, he told Manning and O’Hara. The 36-year-old also starred in the television show Friday Night Lights, where he played quarterback Vince Howard.
“It was the hardest thing I ever had to do,” Jordan said about both acting and directing Creed III.
Beckham’s iconic catch came in November 2014, when he beat Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr and managed to make the 43-yard touchdown catch while also drawing a flag. Manning was the Giants’ quarterback at the time, and Beckham was a rookie after the Giants selected him in the first round out of LSU.