Giants T Pugh: Texans D-line ‘tapped out’ in loss

Justin Pugh and the Giants gave up just one sack to JJ Watt and the Texans. (Getty Images)

The Giants notched their first win of the season Sunday, a decisive victory over the 2-0 Texans. All week, the talk was how Houston's defensive line -- led by arguably the league's best player, J.J. Watt -- was going to demolish the five fat guys responsible for protecting Eli Manning.

Giants right tackle Justin Pugh allowed a Watt sack on the first series, but after that he and his linemates kept Manning clean. When was over, New York was on the right side of the 30-17 finish and Manning was 21 of 28 for 234 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Pugh, meanwhile, maintained that the Texans' defensive line -- Watt included -- "tapped out" in the second half.

"'What's he going to do? How badly is he going to disrupt? How much is he going to hurt you guys?' '' Pugh said to reporters afterward (via the Newsday), echoing questions he heard in the days leading up to the game.

"Now you guys are asking the opposite question -- 'Why wasn't he disruptive?' -- and I think that's because we didn't want to hear that and we didn't want to answer those questions.''

Worth mentioning: In addition to the first-quarter sack, Watt had seven tackles, two tackles for loss, and a pass defended. Still, the Giants rushed for 193 yards, including 176 by Rashad Jennings.

"It wasn't so much about where J.J. Watt was going to line up,'' left tackle William Beatty said. "It was, 'Okay, we've got to get our running game going.' Rashad came out with his mind-set ready to go. It wasn't always running away from Watt.''

"We showed the resiliency of our offensive line,'' Pugh added. "I remember after Week 1, people were asking if we were the worst offensive line in football.''

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Ravens TE Dennis Pitta suffers hip injury, likely done for year



The Baltimore Ravens won their game Sunday but suffered a big loss in the process. Tight end Dennis Pitta, one of quarterback Joe Flacco's favorite targets, dislocated his right hip in the game and is likely done for the season. Pitta suffered the injury in the second quarter. He had three catches for 12 yards prior to the injury. He will undergo tests Monday to determine if there is also a fracture and to see if he needs season-ending surgery.Pitta had 13 catches for 113 yards prior to Sunday's game. Owen Daniels is likely to take his place as the team's top tight end.



Sad news for Pitta and his fantasy owners. It's the same hip Pitta dislocated and fractured during training camp last year, forcing him to miss most of the season. He was widely projected to be in the next tier of fantasy TEs after Jimmy Graham, Julius Thomas and Rob Gronkowski coming into the year.Daniels is rosterable at this point. He has had success as a pass-catcher and has been involved in the Ravens passing game so far this year, catching 10 balls for 70 yards and two touchdowns. While Daniels doesn't offer the athleticism that a healthy Pitta does, he's a little better than serviceable. Expect Daniels to be a low-end TE1 option in most fantasy formats, as Ravens' offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak uses the tight end more than any other OC in the league.