Dan Graziano, senior NFL national reporter 9y

Jason Pierre-Paul taking care of his business

Jason Pierre-Paul didn't have his best game two weeks ago against the Philadelphia Eagles and star left tackle Jason Peters, but he rebounded well enough Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys and star left tackle Tyron Smith that New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin singled him out in a team meeting Monday morning.

"Coach Coughlin mentioned him specifically as having a great game, and when we went back and watched the film, we were amazed," Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara said. "He dominated."

Pierre-Paul had two sacks in the Giants' 31-21 loss in Dallas, getting the better of Smith, who the previous week had become the first offensive lineman in 10 years to a win a conference Player of the Week award. Pierre-Paul was complimentary of Smith prior to the game, but he did note Friday, "I've won a couple of those [Player of the Week] awards too, you know."

He has indeed, and after he struggled through injuries that limited his production the last two years, that was easy for some to forget. But so far this year, Pierre-Paul has been a force for the Giants on the defensive line.

"He's always been an outstanding run player," Giants defensive line coach Robert Nunn said Tuesday. "He's been as good as there has been in the league. When he's healthy, he's as good a run player as I've been around. And with the pass rush, if he continues to stay healthy, it will show up. I think he has a better plan in the pass rush than he has ever had. He came into training camp and that plan developed for him. He's doing a good job attacking offensive tackles."

His 3.5 sacks put him on pace for just eight this year, which is not a number that would make a defensive end in search of a big free-agent contract very happy. But Pierre-Paul knows those sacks can come in bunches. In the meantime, if he continues to play well against the run, he knows the Giants (who've been preaching the importance of that to him since he was a rookie) will appreciate it come contract time. The Giants will have it in their budget to sign Pierre-Paul long term next offseason, and if he continues to play the way he's played so far this year, they'll be happy to give him the kind of deal that stamps him as the cornerstone of their pass rush for the present and the future.

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