New York Jets Compare Garrett Wilson’s Acrobatic Score to Odell Beckham Jr.

It seemed every New York Jets player had an opinion on just how good Garrett Wilson’s one-handed touchdown catch was on Thursday.

Oct 31, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson (5) catches a touchdown pass while being defended by Houston Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter (4) during the second half at MetLife Stadium. / Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

So, was New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson’s amazing one-handed touchdown grab really better than the one former New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. made many years ago?

That was one of the topics of discussion when the Jets met with the media after their 21-13 win over the Houston Texans on Thursday.

Wilson, when asked demurred, saying that Beckham’s catch was better. But, then a reporter reminded him that the Giants lost that game and he said, “Alright. Alright.”

"I'm just happy I could make a play for my teammates," Wilson said.

In the fourth quarter of Thursday’s game Wilson made one of the most incredible catches one may ever see. Running a go route Wilson turned around, grabbed the football with his right hand and brought the ball in for what became the go-ahead touchdown catch.

The reception — which was originally called incomplete but overturned after it was determined Wilson got his left foot and shin down before his left knee went out of bounds, thus establishing possession as he got his right foot down — drew immediate comparisons to Beckham’s incredible reception against the Dallas Cowboys.

That reception, which came in 2014, also came in a prime-time game at Met Life Stadium and was similar in how it developed.

So, here’s Wilson’s catch:

🚨RODGERS TO ADAMS TOUCHDOWN 🚨#HOUvsNYJ on @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/e2Mpue8pp8

— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 1, 2024

And here’s Beckham’s catch:

Odell Beckham Jr. 9 years ago today.

The catch. pic.twitter.com/KKqfePzahf

— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) November 23, 2023

So, who did it better? Everyone had an opinion, including Jets defenders like Sauce Gardner.

“Man that was a tough play,” Gardner said. “That was good defense. Man, you know corner ain’t easy, especially if you have to go up against somebody who can do weird stuff like Garrett you know what I'm saying? He’s different. That catch is up there with .. I'm not gonna say it's better than Odell’s. I really gotta analyze Odell’s catch one more time, you know what I’m saying?”

Cornerback D.J. Reed went there during an interview with SNY while Wilson was standing nearby.

“That's a bad boy right there,” Reed said to SNY while pointing toward Wilson. “That's a bad man. That's the catch of the year. …  That's better than the Odell catch for real, I ain't never seen nothing like that. For that to be on Thursday night football, in prime time, that’s who that guys is.”

Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich was working the official trying to get them to overturn the play.

“Oh my goodness,” Ulbrich said. “I mean I was talking to the ref when they were reviewing it and I'm like, ‘Just for the sake of posterity you have to say that's in just so it goes down in history.’ I mean it would rival the Odell (Beckham Jr.) catch. It was amazing.”

Wide receiver Davante Adams — who was being evaluated for a concussion while the play happened — was ready to get Wilson a new shoe deal.

“I told him he might get kicked from Adidas after that one,” he said. “That one looked like he headed over to Jumpman with me, so we're gonna see. I'm gonna talk to some people about that one, but they might — I ain't gonna say they're gonna replace the logo because I know Mike (Michael Jordan) might not like me saying that. But that was a hard catch and I really just seen it about three minutes ago.”

Wilson remembered seeing the Beckham catch in his family room back in Texas when he was a kid. He said his father was a Cowboys fan and was unhappy after that catch. He was typically humble after the game and said he was happy he could do something to help his team win.

Adams, a veteran who has made big catches like that, seemed to have an understanding of the moment.

“Being able to do that in front of 80,000 and maybe millions watching at home that's special,” he said.