Minnesota Vikings vs Giants: CB Xavier Rhodes intercepts Eli Manning
Xavier Rhodes intercepted Eli Manning pass during the third quarter of the Monday Night Football game between the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings.
One of the most entertaining parts of the Monday Night Football contest on October 3, 2016 between the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants was the matchup between wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and cornerback Xavier Rhodes.
These two guys bickered and shoved up and down the field during week 4 of the 2016 NFL season, but Rhodes definitely made a big impression on a deep pass from Eli Manning to Beckham in the third quarter.
Here is the result of the play as shared by the official Twitter account of the National Football League:
Eli Manning overthrows @OBJ_3…
Easy pickings!@XavierRhodes29_ comes down with the INT! #NYGvsMIN https://t.co/SB8m24O9HF— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2016
It’s hard to know what all fell apart on this play. Whether it was a wrong assignment, missed audible, poorly executed play, or just a hail Mary type throw, it was just plain ugly for the New York Giants.
Eli Manning appears to have thought that Odell Beckham Jr. was going to continue running down the field to create a jump ball situation between him and Xavier Rhodes, but that wasn’t the case.
While Beckham curled the route in, the pass soared deep. Rhodes tracked the ball in the air and made an easy interception. Afterwards, he picked up some yardage on the return, eventually getting knocked out of bounds.
There is no doubt that this rivalry between Xavier Rhodes and Odell Beckham Jr. will continue as these two teams do battle in the future. Eli Manning has always seemed to struggle against the Minnesota Vikings, and this defense led by head coach Mike Zimmer frustrated the former two time Super Bowl MVP in a big way.
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