Jason Pierre-Paul let out a primal scream when his arm was moved while he laid on the turf Monday night at Ford Field. It left
Giants fans holding their collective breaths, especially when Pierre-Paul walked slowly off the field in the first quarter and was eventually taken to the locker room on a cart.
The former All-Pro defensive end returned later in the first half from the neck injury and finished the contest. He made several impressive defensive plays working down the line of scrimmage against the run. There was little sign of any lingering effects.
But what about moving forward? With a short week after playing on Monday night, the Giants expect to keep Pierre-Paul limited at practice.
"I'm sure we'll monitor it, but he really felt good after the game and [Tuesday] morning as well," coach Tom Coughlin said. "We'll list him as limited, but the fact that he came back and played and played with good energy, didn't seem to have any issues, I think that is a good sign."
While Pierre-Paul may be fine, he wasn't the most serious injury coming out of the loss in Detroit. Punter Steve Weatherford suffered a high ankle sprain and had an MRI on Tuesday. Coughlin did not have the results as of mid-afternoon.
The Giants likely need to make a roster move. Weatherford's ankle was the size of a basketball on Monday night. The Giants don't have another punter on the roster.
While the loss of Weatherford would hurt, it would not be at the same level as Pierre-Paul. The Giants have put all the eggs in their pass-rush basket on the defensive end after two injury-plagued seasons.
Pierre-Paul, 25, had 16.5 sacks in 2011. He had 8.5 in the past two seasons combined, in large part because of health problems. But he was a participant in every training camp practice this summer and entered Monday night's opener the healthiest he's been in years.