“Who?” That one-word response from New York Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams initiated a verbal slugfest that lasted all the way up until the Browns’ thrashing of the Jets on Monday night.
In the week leading up to their matchup, newly-hired Williams spoke out about the Browns’ number one receiver, Odell Beckham Jr., saying that he did not think he was “dynamic” as a player. While it is acknowledged that Williams is certainly entitled to his opinion, the one he espouses is surely not a popular one, seeing as Beckham is not only a former first-round pick and Offensive Rookie of the Year (2014) but also a three-time Pro Bowl selection.
Williams happened upon the head coaching position for the Browns after the mid-season firing of Hue Jackson. However, after helping lead the team to a 7-8-1 record, Williams was swiftly replaced by current Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens. Williams ultimately landed with the Jets as a defensive coordinator and made sure to raise the stakes heading into their Week two matchup by calling out Beckham.
The 26-year-old receiver and his team ultimately got the last laugh after demolishing the Jets 23-3. Beckham, who would finish with 6 catches for 161 yards and a touchdown, capped off the scoring for his team by reeling in a pass from Baker Mayfield and taking it 89 yards to the house for the longest touchdown reception of his career.
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Beckham kept his comments short after the big win.
“Everything fuels me,” Beckham said in the post-game press conference. “Good comments about me, bad comments, everything fuels me.”
The emotional wideout also fired back at Williams’ barb with his own identical question to feign confusion.
“Who?” Beckham joked when asked about Williams. “Everybody has a right to their own opinion. He’s a phenomenal coach and he has a great defense, but I’m done talking about it. We won, so I just tried to make plays to help the team.”
Mayfield, on the other hand, came back with a quick jab of his own when asked about that game-sealing touchdown from Beckham.
“It was pretty dynamic,” said the second-year quarterback.
Back-and-forth trash talk aside, the Browns managed to make quick work of the Jets, even with a coach on the other side who was familiar with many of Cleveland’s plays and tendencies.
When asked about Williams after the game, Kitchens only gave brief remarks.
“He did a good job,” said Kitchens of Williams. “Gregg did a good job of combatting some of the things that we had. He wasn’t going to let us beat him deep. He did a very good job.”
While Williams might have been successful in stopping some of the things the Browns did, the one thing neither he nor the Jets were able to stop was Beckham. The wideout torched New York’s defense en route to a win that improved the Browns to 1-1 on the year and dropped the Jets to 0-2.
