EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Earlier in the week, I asked New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul whether sacking a quarterback is something you have to remind yourself how to do when it's been a while. You're not allowed to do it in practice, and starters don't play much in the preseason. Pierre-Paul had just two sacks in the Giants' last 24 games entering Sunday's game against Arizona. He was hungry.

"Yes, absolutely," he told me Thursday. "It's like if you go a long time without driving a car. You have to remind yourself about every step. Put on the seatbelt. Check your mirrors."

Pierre-Paul said making tackles in the run game helped, but that the feeling of finishing off a quarterback when you get close to him is unique and special.

He got to feel it again in the first quarter Sunday, when he sacked Arizona quarterback Drew Stanton on the seventh play of the game. He teamed with Mathias Kiwanuka on another sack of Stanton in the third quarter. For the game, the Giants had four sacks, as Robert Ayers got one and defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins got the first sack of his career. It was refreshing for a team that's determined to improve on last year's total of 34 sacks to collect a few in Week 2, even if it was against a backup quarterback who seemed to be holding the ball too long.

"That's what we have to do as a defensive line," Pierre-Paul said. "That's our job. Get to the quarterback. We've got to do it even more."

Second-year defensive end Damontre Moore looked active in the pass rush, and he will play end on occasion as Pierre-Paul and/or another end moves inside to play tackle on passing downs. The Giants believe they have a good rotation at defensive end and should be able to generate more pressure on quarterbacks than they did a year ago, even though 2013 sack leader Justin Tuck is now an Oakland Raider. Sunday's game may have reminded them what it's like to have a strong pressure game. And as Pierre-Paul admitted earlier in the week, everyone could use a refresher.