The Baltimore Ravens have earned the strong belief that they’re built to come out of the AFC as the conference champions.
That means that some members of the 2023-24 Ravens could be bound for their first Super Bowl appearance ever, such as Lamar Jackson, Mark Andrews, Roquan Smith, etc. But Odell Beckham Jr. knows the scenario the top-seeded Ravens are facing all too well.
Looking at the Number of Rings Odell Beckham Jr. Has Won
Saturday will mark Beckham’s first live playoff appearance since the 2021 season while with the Los Angeles Rams.
That campaign ended in a Super Bowl title for LA and Beckham — his first title run ever in his career.
Beckham never played for a championship with the New York Giants through his first five seasons in the NFL. Before linking up with the Rams, OBJ had only appeared in one playoff game with NYG: 2016, when he caught passes from Eli Manning.
However, his playoff appearance with the Giants was short-lived. The Green Bay Packers demolished Beckham and the Giants 38-13 in the Wild Card Round.
The perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver eventually became a late November addition to LA following his late 2021 season release by the Cleveland Browns. Beckham and the Rams had a rough start together at first, losing their first two games together against the San Francisco 49ers and the Packers in back-to-back weeks.
But once December rolled in, the Rams got red-hot with Beckham, and he proved how valuable his impact was on the offense.
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Beckham produced six games of catching between 4-9 passes. He also caught seven touchdowns in his 12 games as a Ram. But members of the “Rams House” probably recall his most epic performance: The NFC Championship Game against the 49ers, which saw OBJ snatch nine passes for 113 yards in the 20-17 win to advance to the Super Bowl.
The Rams would then suffer a crushing blow involving OBJ. He went down with an ACL tear early in Super Bowl LVI. LA, though, helped finish what he started, and the final scene saw Beckham spilling tears of joy, capturing his first-ever Vince Lombardi Trophy.
How Impactful Was Beckham for Baltimore?
Baltimore became Beckham’s first team since the Rams. Plus, the Ravens became the ones who gave OBJ one more NFL chance following his devastating ACL tear — which took him away from the 2022 season.
By adding Beckham, many anticipated that Jackson would have a much-needed vertical downfield threat for this offense to click. Plus, many across the league saw the move to add Beckham as showing the seriousness of the Ravens’ Super Bowl aspirations, as the franchise was adding a veteran who won a ring.
How impactful has Beckham been for Baltimore?
He’s not the same WR who took the league by storm through his first two seasons in the NFL. But even as a former 90-catch wideout, Beckham still proved to be impactful in limited duty for Baltimore.
Despite catching just 35 passes in 14 games played, he ended up averaging 16.1 yards per catch. That number becomes the highest for his career. He also tallied 565 yards, more than his 2021 yardage mark of 537.
He still showed moments where he can stretch the field with his 31-year-old legs. Against the Rams on Dec. 10, he snatched four passes for 97 yards in the 37-31 overtime win. He tallied the same number of catches versus the rival Cincinnati Bengals, but the yardage totaled 116 in that 34-20 romp on Nov. 16.
Beckham may not be the lead wideout, as that title was earned by rookie Zay Flowers and his 77 grabs. But the Ravens will be leaning on Beckham’s more recent Super Bowl experience to ignite this run on Saturday against the Houston Texans.
Want to predict the results of the 2023 NFL postseason with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? How about looking into in-depth breakdowns of team depth charts or the NFL playoff schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with all that and more!
