Tom Coughlin didn't want to take his best player off the field Sunday, even for a little bit. Instead, the NFL might do it for him next week.

The New York Giants coach took plenty of heat Sunday after his team lost to the Carolina Panthers in a game that featured plenty of unneeded extracirriculars between Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and Carolina cornerback Josh Norman.

Some wondered whether Coughlin should have sat down Beckham for a few plays to let him regain his composure. Ultimately, Coughlin decided not to bench Beckham, and said composure was never regained. Instead, Beckham was flagged three times for unsportsmanlike conduct and is now facing a "likely" suspension" for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Norman after a play finished.

"It was a consideration. In fact, it was a strong consideration. But it didn't happen," Coughlin told reporters after the game.

The coach was then asked why he didn't remove Beckham.

"Because I didn't take him out," he answered.

OK. Care to elaborate any more?

"(I left him in) because I wanted him to play the game," Coughlin said. "He had to learn. He's got to learn at some point how to deal with some things on the field."

Hopefully for the Giants' case, Beckham did "learn." It might come at a hefty price for the Giants, though. If Beckham is suspended, the Giants, tied for second place in the NFC East, will be without one of the game's best wide receivers for a potential make-or-break game next week in Minnesota. If Beckham -- or Coughlin -- don't learn from that, then they probably won't learn at all.

H/t to CBS Sports