Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. leaves the field after suffering an injury early Sunday against Cincinnati. Beckham suffered a torn ACL. Michael Conroy/Associated Press
CLEVELAND — Odell Beckham Jr. was in a much better place emotionally and physically. This was going to be the season he changed minds.
He was determined to make 2020 — and its many obstacles — a special year, re-establish himself as one of the NFL’s best players and lead the Browns back to the playoffs, along with with best friend and teammate Jarvis Landry.
Beckham won’t get the chance.
The star receiver’s second season with Cleveland ended on Monday after an MRI confirmed he sustained a torn left knee ligament in the opening minutes of Sunday’s 37-34 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Beckham’s injury is a devastating personal blow and a potentially major setback to the Browns, who are off to their best start since 1994 and eyeing their first postseason appearance in 18 years.
They’ll have to get there without Beckham.
“Obviously, it’s a big loss,” Coach Kevin Stefanski said. “He’s a huge part of what we do, so now we just have to huddle up and find some different ways and find some different people and put them in that role. … I’m sick for Odell.”
The three-time Pro Bowler got hurt when his left leg buckled while he was trying to make a tackle after Baker Mayfield’s first pass was intercepted by Bengals cornerback Darius Phillips.
An MRI taken Monday in Cleveland confirmed the diagnosis of the torn ACL, an injury that typically requires nine months to one year of recovery time. The team said Beckham will be placed on injured reserve, but Stefanski did not have a timetable on when he will have surgery.
On what became his final play of 2020, Beckham, who was slowed last season by a core muscle injury, was chasing Phillips down the sideline when his leg got twisted awkwardly. He immediately grabbed it, was taken directly to the locker room and didn’t return.
JAGUARS: Doug Marrone’s job is safe for now.
Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan spared Marrone following the team’s sixth consecutive loss, a 39-29 setback at the Los Angeles Chargers in which the Jaguars tied an NFL record by allowing at least 30 points in six straight games.
The Jaguars (1-6) showed enough fight against the Chargers – they led 29-22 late in the third quarter – for Khan to stick with Marrone into the team’s bye week and quite possibly through the end of the season.
“I think that any time you’re losing like this and you’re not performing well on Sundays, I think it’s naive. It can happen,” Marrone said. “I just work and do the best job I can for the coaches and players. …
“That’s just what this game is: work as hard as you possibly can, and at the end of the day, you have to hold your head up high knowing that you did everything you possibly could to try to win games while at the same time know that you did your best for the coaches and the players.”
Marrone is on the verge of coming up well short of the owner’s winning expectations. And the belief is that changes will ultimately be made if Jacksonville continues on its current path. It won’t help that Marrone has the youngest team in the league and lost valuable offseason work because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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