NFL

ROSS’ PAIR OF INTERCEPTIONS BIG FOR GIANTS

Aaron Ross was still angry with himself for dropping an easy interception last week, still disappointed for not making the big plays he knew he could this year. So when he snatched a deflection out of the air in the third quarter yesterday, he made the most of it.

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His 50-yard interception return for a touchdown all but sealed the Giants’ 30-10 rout of the Ravens at Giants Stadium. Ross picked off a pass from Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco, beat the Jersey-born rookie to the corner. He raced down the Big Blue sideline, pointing at Flacco in celebration as he sprinted into the end zone and flipped the ball away.

“I couldn’t let him catch me. My girl would’ve let me hear it,” said Ross, whose fiancée, Sanya Richards, is a two-time Olympic 4×400 gold medal winner. But neither in Athens nor in Beijing did Richards seem to run as fast as Ross did after a ball deflected off receiver Derrick Mason and into his waiting arms.

The Giants led just 20-10 late in the third quarter, and the game was up for grabs – until Ross made his pick and went the other way to ice the win.

“It’s huge. I haven’t been making the plays I know I can make. To turn it around today it’s a confidence boost,” said Ross. “I was getting annoyed with myself for not being able to make the big plays I know I’m capable of making. To have this . . . I’m happy. You can see the smile on my face.”

Ross had already made his first interception of the season, jumping an in-route to Mason in the second quarter.

“We wanted to outdo the Ravens defense. They get a lot of glory on the defensive side and I feel like our defense is underrated,” Ross said. “That was the focus, to go and beat their defense. I feel like we did a great job.”

Ross strained his right calf on the drive following his second pick, but stayed on the field for two more possessions.

“I was happy for him,” coach Tom Coughlin said. “He’s been real hard on himself with a dropped interception a week ago and he comes up with two very nice ones.”

His defensive teammates appreciate Ross’ contributions.

“Aaron’s great. He struggles sometimes, but you have to have a short memory, just come out and play,” linebacker Antonio Pierce said. “He was huge. Last week he dropped an interception, and (yesterday) he caught two. Those were big plays, so he was huge for us.”