Jason Pierre-Paul left little doubt on Friday about whether he would be on the field Sunday, when the Giants look to keep the Browns winless on the season.
The defensive end, who hasn’t practiced and was listed on the injury report throughout the week after suffering a knee injury in last week’s victory over the Bears, said emphatically: “I’m playing on Sunday. I already said it last week. I’ll be out there Sunday.”
That’s good news for a team that will be trying to win its sixth straight game and send the Browns to their 12th defeat in a row this season.
Coach Ben McAdoo, though, said he wouldn’t be certain how effective Pierre-Paul would be until he sees him work on Saturday.
For as well as he has been playing lately, Pierre-Paul is confident the best is yet to come.
Asked if a defensive end can get in a rhythm in the same way a quarterback or running back can, Pierre Paul responded: “Yes, you can, [but] I’m not in a rhythm. I’m just playing ball. I will be soon.”
Pierre-Paul is coming off perhaps his best performance of the season with four tackles and 2 ½ sacks, as well as a forced fumble and a pass batted down against the Bears. He continues to show that, despite his horrific injury to his right hand from the fireworks accident that occurred July 4, 2015, he can be an elite defender.
He has sparked a defense that has played a key role in the Giants’ winning ways, while the offense has struggled at times.
“I just think we’re playing great ball,” Pierre-Paul said. “It’s coming together.”
Pierre-Paul insisted that despite Cleveland’s record, the Giants won’t overlook their winless opponent.
“We’re gonna go out and play our ball, no matter what their record is,” Pierre-Paul said. “I’m gonna do what I have to do … and just try to keep rolling.”
That’s the message — if there is one — from McAdoo, who said he didn’t need to tell the Giants they can’t afford to overlook the hapless Browns.
“I don’t have to try to tell them anything,” McAdoo said. “You turn on the film and you watch the games. They’ve had a handful of games that have come down to the end. In this league, that’s the way they go. We’ve been in a lot of close ball games. We have to prepare for 60 minutes, four plus quarters, whatever it takes to get the job done.”
That includes Pierre-Paul, who McAdoo said would have been “limited” if the team had practiced Friday.
Pierre-Paul said his knee could impact him Sunday.
“Maybe just a little bit, but I am fine,” Pierre-Paul said. “I will be fine. … It is just an injury. It happened last Sunday, so I will be OK.”
The Giants will take whatever they can get from him as they look to keep up with the first-place Cowboys after their win over the Redskins on Thursday — an outcome Pierre-Paul alleged he was not even aware of.
Instead, he’s hoping to make life miserable for the Browns, like he did for Chicago.
“We can take their soul out of them at times,” Pierre-Paul said of opponents. “I feel like the person in front of me, I can tell when he has a little bit more energy in his tank or not and that is what pushes me to go harder, to go faster and to try to make plays … because I don’t come off the field. Unless I have a broken leg, I am not going to come off the field.”