Can Josh Norman shut down Odell Beckham Jr.?
Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman neutralized a murderer's row of elite wide receivers, emerging as the prohibitive favorite for Defensive Player of the Year. If Norman shuts down New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. on Sunday, the Panthers' star will possess an iron-clad case for the award.
Easier said than done, right?
Norman rendered Mike Evans without a catch, while the quartet of DeAndre Hopkins, Julio Jones, T.Y. Hilton, and Dez Bryant were held to a combined total of nine catches for 89 yards and no touchdowns. The Panthers cornerback has yet to surrender over 50 yards in a single game, while boasting a league-best 43.1 opposing quarterback rating. In every sense of the term, Norman is the premier shutdown cornerback.
Beckham entered a different stratosphere with 796 yards and eight touchdowns in his last six games. The Giants' superstar is coming off his best performance of the season and eviscerated top cornerbacks Darrelle Revis, Brent Grimes, and Bashaud Breeland in recent weeks. Norman himself provided a glowing assessment of Beckham, knowing that his opponent is a singular talent in his own right.
The highly-anticipated clash could end up being a stalemate after all, due to resolute similarities in both players' games. Although he's lauded for his series of one-handed catches, Beckham's defining attribute is his ability to separate from defenders in the open field with surreal acceleration. Ordinarily, it would be unwise to suggest that anyone could catch Beckham in the open field, but Norman neutralized speedsters Hilton and Jones in space, two of the NFL's most dynamic wide receivers.
In a showdown between this season's best defensive player and the NFL's hottest wide receiver, many prevailing narratives will surely be crafted. If Norman shuts down Beckham, he'll cement his case for postseason honors by running a modern-day gauntlet of upper echelon stars. Conversely, if Beckham prevails over Norman, his mythological status will continue to ascend to preposterous heights. Few players can even dream of contending with Beckham, and Norman just may prove the impossible to be true.