It hasn’t taken long for Cleveland Browns superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham to learn about the emotions involved in the rivalry with the Baltimore Ravens, and Marlon Humphrey will be hearing from the league office for this one.
The Cleveland Browns have enjoyed an offensive renaissance in Week 4 against a normally stingy Baltimore Ravens defense, as Baker Mayfield has bounced back in a big way with over 300 passing yards. That said, 167 of those yards went to Jarvis Landry and 82 to sleeper tight end Ricky Seals-Jones, whereas superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham hadn’t caught a single pass on his four targets into the final five minutes of the fourth quarter.
Beckham was hard at work being a decoy, earning extra attention from the Ravens elite secondary to open things up for Landry and the others on the Browns offense. Even running back Nick Chubb, who had three rushing touchdowns and 162 yards, seemed to benefit.
But Odell did get involved in the action in one way. He and Ravens elite corner Marlon Humphrey had been battling throughout the game, and things were getting chippy. Humphrey, however, crossed the line, aggressively choking out Beckham while the receiver was lying down.
Although Humphrey got away with this without punishment from the officials, the NFL offices should call up Humphrey for a serious fine or even a suspension. This was dangerous and unnecessary from Humphrey, who turned a battle between a star corner and wide receiver into something that has no place on the football field.
Humphrey’s left hand can clearly be seen wrapped around Beckham’s neck, and, again, the league’s officials will have time to look at this footage and come to a decision on an appropriate punishment for the Ravens star defensive back.
Beckham and the Browns will likely get the last laugh, as Cleveland held a 12-point lead late in the game, with Beckham putting in the dirty work to help his best friend Landry break out on the stat sheet.
Seeing as how Humphrey could have been ejected if the refs spotted this, Ravens fans should worry about a suspension.