In a Flash, Odell Beckham Again Proves He's Worth Every Bit of Trouble

If you want explicit evidence of why the New York Giants put up with a moody, occasionally dirty, sometimes petty third-year wide receiver, what happened in one of the biggest games of the season is the proof.

One of the greatest pains in the asses in the NFL is Odell Beckham Jr. He can resort to cheap shots. He constantly cries to game officials. He's been fined numerous times this season alone. He doesn't seem to always have respect for teammates. Beckham can be silly and childish and a jerk.

And then...and then...and wow.

Who knows what gear Beckham hit when he took a three-step slant and turned it into a backbreaking, dazzling, holy-crap 61-yard score Sunday night against the Cowboys. Was it warp speed? Hyperspace? Ludicrous speed? Some type of trans-dimensional shift between universes? It's unknown. Stephen Hawking was unavailable for comment.

What it was, however, is a prime example of why the Giants put up with his nonsense. When Beckham does things like that, all of the other things, suddenly and in the moment, don't matter. Beckham blows you away with his speed and then destroys any memories of his past deeds. He is already one of the most explosive players the NFL has ever seen.

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Beckham is the reason the Giants won, 10-7, against Dallas and kept their hopes of winning the NFC East alive. But he did something else along the way. He continued to prove an old sports adage: Talent trumps all.

There are other reasons the Giants won, namely the defensive play. New York was missing Jason Pierre-Paul but still stifled what has been a mostly unstoppable Dak Prescott. Corner Janoris Jenkins had an interception and forced a fumble, and the defense confused Prescott all night. Star Dez Bryant had one of the quieter nights of his career, finishing with one catch for 10 yards and a fumble.

The defense was good. Beckham was indescribable.

Yes, Beckham is a pain. This isn't to say he's like Lawrence Taylor, another notorious, freakish talent who was also a pain in the rear. No, Taylor was in a class all by himself, both in terms of talent and his felonious life of crimes and misdemeanors. No, Beckham isn't on that level. Few have been.

Beckham is still a stereotypical receiver diva, a sort of Terrell Owens Lite. And like Owens and a number of other moody divas, that talent obscures almost every flaw. And boy, does Beckham have talent.

That touchdown catch, again, came on a short slant route. It's the kind of play Jerry Rice used to make and cause jaws to drop. Now, Beckham does the same thing, only faster and better. That may sound like blasphemy, but it's also accurate.

When Beckham caught the ball, Dallas players had the angle on him, and he just blew by them. Watch the play again. Those are NFL defensive backs he's dusting.

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The last player we saw with that kind of speed after a catch was Randy Moss. I'm not so sure Beckham isn't faster.

Like a lot of historic players, the true danger of a player like Beckham is he can be stifled for much of the game, like he was against Dallas, and then he can strike like a cobra. In the first half, Eli Manning went just 10-of-16 for 80 yards. He was sacked three times and lost two fumbles. Beckham only had two catches for 26 yards in the first half.

Then came that play.

"He's a special player," Manning said after the game. "Hit him in stride, and good things happen. So we have to find ways to hit him on the move, hit him on the run..."

Manning had his Eli moments throughout the game. But it's almost as if Beckham acts like a counteragent when Eli goes full Eli. One play, one flick of the wrist, and the game changed. That's the power of Beckham.

That speed makes Beckham scarier than Antonio Brown, A.J. Green or Julio Jones.

Beckham, along with that Giants defense, has temporarily paused Dallas' coronation as the NFC East champion.

Beckham is a pain. Beckham is a diva. Beckham can be dirty.

But boy, can he be electric. And worth the trouble.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.