Giants wideout Odell Beckham struggled in the Giants' 24-10 loss to the Vikings on Monday, racking up a career-low 23 yards on three receptions.
The star wide receiver also picked up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty following a verbal confrontation with Vikings corner Xavier Rhodes after he was hit out of bounds on a play. Although the penalty for taunting appeared to be justifiable, Beckham told reporters after the game he feels referees are holding him to a different standard compared to other players.
"You have to protect yourself at all times," Beckham told reporters after the loss. "I just gotta know where I'm at. I just gotta know that it's all against me.
"I have to assume that I'm always in the wrong no matter what. That's something that's a tough pill to swallow. You have to understand it, you have to be able to cope with it and just keep it moving."
Shortly after making these statements in the locker room, Beckham was seen by reporters talking to Giants general manager Jerry Reese.
Beckham's actions have become an alarming trend for Big Blue. He was fined $36,000 for a crackback block on Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro two weeks ago, his sixth fine in two-plus seasons. Giants coach Ben McAdoo said after last week's loss to the Redskins that the wideout "needs to control his emotions better and be less of a distraction to himself and his teammates." Additionally, Beckham said he was warned by refs to watch his behavior before the Week 3 matchup against rival Josh Norman and the Redskins.
After Monday's loss, Beckham's latest penalty prompted Eli Manning to say the All-Pro needs to do a better job staying out of trouble.
"He has got to be aware," Manning said. "They're looking for him and he has got to play smart. We can't afford to do anything. They're going to call him and he brought that on himself."
While Beckham believes he is drawing unfair attention, he says the Giants' issues are what fuel his emotional flares -- not opposing players who might be trying to antagonize him.
"Nobody on another team bothers, upsets me," Beckham said. "It's all again us. I only get upset with us, my team, myself. It has nothing to with anybody else, period. Getting in your head, any of that other stuff, that's all tough to create a distraction, which doesn't really work."
But it's not just the penalties and outbursts that have led to the rare talent's subpar start to the season -- it's also the mistakes.
After the penalty, which occurred late in the first half, things went downhill for Beckham and the Giants. On the opening drive in the third quarter, Beckham dropped a ball on first down and ran a poor route two plays later, leading to an interception. The final six throws Manning targeted Beckham on were either incomplete or picked off.
While the refs weren't the ones covering Beckham on any of the throws, Beckham didn't seem like his dynamic, play-making self after being called for unsportsmanlike conduct. The penalty was a major talking point for Beckham after the game.
"There's never any explanation," Beckham said about penalties called against him. "It's just my fault. It's all I look at it as, it's my fault. Whatever you want to call it, I just have to understand, if I sneeze the wrong way, it'll be a flag, it'll be a fine. If I tie my shoe the wrong way, it might be a fine or a flag."
Beckham seems adamant against letting anyone try to slow him down despite the adversity he's encountered this season.
"When you're at the top of your game, they're gonna try and knock you off," Beckham stated. "What are you going to do? You gonna back down or are you gonna stand up? And I've never been one to back down. So I'm gonna stand up, we're gonna work to get better."
