'Greatest catch of all time': A new football star is born as Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. defies gravity on Sunday Night Football

• Odell Beckham Jr was being dragged to the ground in first quarter
• Leaped backwards into the air and caught the ball with thumb and finger
• Viewers of the Dallas Cowboys game on Sunday night left gobsmacked

By Mia De Graaf for MailOnline

Published: 23:17 EST, 23 November 2014 | Updated: 23:40 EST, 23 November 2014

He was being dragged to the ground.

But that didn't stop New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr from pulling off what many are calling the greatest catch of all time.

With just his thumb and two fingers, the 22-year-old hurled himself backwards into the air to score an unbelievable 43-yard touchdown.

Unbelievable: Odell Beckham Jr caught the ball with just a thumb and two fingers while falling backwards

Greatest catch of all time? Commentators and fellow NFL players gushed about the 22-year-old's skill

It came during the first play of the second quarter against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night at the Met Life stadium in New Jersey.

And as the Giants celebrated a 14-3 lead, viewers were gobsmacked.

Legendary NBC sportscaster Al Michaels exclaimed: 'That's incredible.'

Meanwhile his fellow commentator Cris Collinsworth could not stop shouting.

'Put that to music!' he gushed, 'That is absolutely impossible what he just did! That may be the greatest catch I've ever seen in my life!'

His peers were no less impressed.

Lauded: Beckham brought the Giants to a 14-3 lead against the Dallas Cowboys in Sunday night's game

'Impossible!': Even after catching the ball, Beckham kept his weight forward and stepped twice before falling

Perfection: He scored a 43-yard touchdown in the second quarter of the game at the MetLife Stadium

Gushing: His peers took to Twitter applauding Beckham for his skills and 'the catch of the year'

'Increible!': The notoriously excitable Spanish language commentary of the catch is now a hit on Twitter

'Wow. What a catch. #Respect,' Vontae Davis, Indianapolis Colts' cornerback, wrote.

Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver, simply tweeted: 'Sheesh' with three applause signs.

The New York Giants' Victor Cruz said 'that's the best catch I've ever seen', while the San Diego Chargers' Eddie Royal and Green Bay Packers' Randall Cobb called it the 'catch of the year'.

Balletic? One artistic Twitter user fashioned Beckham's outstretched catch into a corps of ballet dancers

Otherworldly: According to this Photoshop user, Beckham catch looked like something out of Space Jam

Contorted: Twitter users flipped Beckham in numerous ways to create hilarious memes

David Nelson, of the New York Jets, wrote: 'Beckham Jr... WOW!!!!'

Predictably, the internet was awash with PhotoShopped images of Beckham's contorted body in various scenarios.

One shows him backflipping over the moon to catch the ball.

Another lines up his outstretched arm with a corps of ballet dancers.