Odell Beckham Jr. on Onside Kick: My Heart and Effort Can 'Never Be Questioned'

New York Giants star Odell Beckham Jr. hit back at those who questioned his effort level as he attempted to recover an onside kick in Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears.

Some noticed how Beckham appeared to pull back a bit as the ball was arriving.

After the game, the three-time Pro Bowler said it was unfair to single him out for the Giants' failure to recover the kick, per ESPN.com's Jordan Raanan:

"That's fine. It was a great kick. Sometimes, somebody makes a better play than you do. I can dive in there and still not get the ball. It was a very tough call. Nobody should ever question my effort or my heart. That's the last thing you can do. You can question me as a person, as a man, whatever you want to do. But my heart and my effort can never be questioned -- ever."

Beckham's play Sunday was almost exactly like Cam Newton's fumble in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 50.

Von Miller stripped Newton, and the Carolina Panthers quarterback acted quickly to try to get back on the ball. Then at the last second, he hesitated, and the ball continued rolling around before Broncos safety T.J. Ward recovered it.

Newton later told reporters he was worried about potentially injuring his knee if he had attempted to dive on the ball.

Considering Beckham's mistake happened during a regular-season game, he's unlikely to face the same level of scrutiny Newton handled in the aftermath of the Panthers' loss. The fact that the Giants went on to beat the Bears in overtime helps too.

There's no question Beckham could have done more to recover the onside kick. He was in a position to get his hands on the ball yet allowed Bears tight end Daniel Brown to take it instead.

A player's biggest mistake in such a situation is hesitating at the wrong moment, but that doesn't speak to some larger character flaw.