The Giants finally won a game but they may have again lost defensive end Justin Tuck, who this season has now officially been hurting from head (actually neck) to toe.
Tuck last week said he felt better against the Packers than he has all season, but his good health did not last very long. He came up last week with an injury to one of his big toes and exacerbated the problem in the Giants’ 37-34 victory over the Cowboys, a new ailment that could keep him out of Sunday’s game against the Redskins.
“I have no clue,’’ Tuck said about his availability for that game during his weekly radio spot on WFAN. He is awaiting the results of an MRI of his toe.
Tuck played a reduced role, only about 30 plays as the Giants ended a four-game losing streak, and at times there was discussion about keeping him on the bench after his toe flared up. He finished with no tackles in the game.
“For the most point I felt I was out there just to be the fourth man on the line,’’ Tuck said. “I was out there playing on one leg, just trying to fight through it.’’
Tuck said his gut feeling is he will play Sunday.
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* There is a chance the Giants will at least get one of their two injured defensive starters back for the next game. Safety Kenny Phillips missed the victory at Cowboys Stadium with a strained medial collateral ligament in his knee and DE Osi Umenyiora has missed the past two games with a sprained ankle.
Asked about the possibility of getting Phillips and Umenyiora back this week, coach Tom Coughlin said: “We’re going to have to wait and see. You get excited and then you get a report and it’s not quite as positive as you thought it might be.’’
Phillips was able to do some running last week, so perhaps he has a chance to return, though MCL sprains usually take a minimum of two weeks to heal. As for Umenyiora, a source with knowledge of his health said “not really’’ when asked if there’s a chance he will play against the Redskins. Coughlin said center David Baas, out the past two weeks with what the team is calling “intense headaches,’’ is in the same uncertain category as Phillips and Umenyiora.
* TE Jake Ballard came up big down the stretch against the Cowboys, catching an eight-yard touchdown pass with 3:14 remaining. He came out of the game with a wrist injury, although X-rays for any break came back negative. Coughlin said Ballard is “going to be OK.’’ … TE Travis Beckum was forced out with an injury to his upper chest area. Coughlin said the issue is with Beckum’s collar bone.