The Giants, as usual, gathered at their team hotel Saturday night for meetings, but what happened was not usual at all. They were showed a video made by Jason Pierre-Paul, their fallen defensive end, who is gone for the remainder of the regular season following surgery to repair a sports hernia.
The message from JPP:
“We got an opportunity to be great and to be a dog,’’ safety Landon Collins said.
Pierre-Paul was in attendance Sunday night as the Giants beat the Cowboys 10-7. He spoke to the team before the game and even went onto the field to break down their pregame huddle with some words of inspiration.
“He just said go out there and ball today,’’ said rookie Romeo Okwara, the rookie from Notre Dame who started in place of JPP.
“I was excited, a little bit of nerves, but I think they were good nerves,’’ said Okwara, who had a team-high eight tackles and his first NFL sack.
Shane Vereen’s comeback was a long time in the making, but it came and went in a heartbeat. Vereen’s first and only catch went for 10 yards on third-and-15. That turned out to be his final play of the night. He came away from that play with a concussion, ending his evening.
Vereen made his return after missing nine games with a torn triceps. His previous game was the Sept. 25 loss to the Redskins. Vereen was activated off injured reserve Saturday after practicing the past two weeks. He was on the field on the first series and Eli Manning threw his way on a third-down play, but the pass was incomplete.
Dez Bryant in two games against the Giants has two catches for 17 yards, going almost exclusively against CB Janoris Jenkins.
“I’m at a loss for words,’’ Bryant said. “I can’t believe the game came out that way. We made too many mistakes and it cost us.’’
Odell Beckham Jr.’s 61-yard touchdown catch-and-run late in the third quarter was his 34th scoring reception from Manning. That moved Beckham past Plaxico Burress, who had 33 TDs from Manning.
DT Johnathan Hankins was forced out in the second half with a neck burner. … Ben McAdoo won a replay challenge in the second quarter contesting the ruling on the field that Cowboys offensive lineman Doug Free was not touched after recovering a fumble. Devon Kennard, who had a sack on the play, made contact with Free with his legs on the Giants’ 41-yard line.
Justin Pugh missed his fifth straight game with a knee injury. He was replaced once again by Marshall Newhouse as the starting left guard. Pugh practiced all week on a limited basis but was not cleared to play. He has a good shot at making his return this Sunday vs. the Lions. … DE Owa Odighizuwa could not make it all the way back from a knee issue and was inactive.