Giants left guard Justin Pugh will miss time with knee

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - The New York Giants are going into the second half of the season without arguably their best offensive lineman.

Coach Ben McAdoo announced Monday that left guard Justin Pugh will be sidelined indefinitely with a sprained right knee.

"He's going to miss a little bit of time," McAdoo said without saying how long Pugh might be out.

The team's first-round draft choice in 2013, Pugh was hurt early in the second quarter of Sunday's 28-23 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

The first-year coach also had no further information on the severity of an ankle injury to wide receiver Victor Cruz, who was also injured in the game. An MRI was planned.

Brett Jones, the former CFL player signed in 2015, replaced Pugh and helped the Giants (5-3) win their third straight game.

"I thought Jonesie did a nice job when he went in there," McAdoo said. "He played physical. He's been playing more center for us but was ready to go in the ballgame at guard."

McAdoo would not say whether Jones will continue at the position. His other option would be to move Bobby Hart from right tackle to left guard and return Marshall Newhouse to right tackle.

Newhouse was the starting right tackle until injuring a calf in the second game of the season. He returned Sunday, playing as a sixth lineman to help in running situations.

The running game continued struggling Sunday, gaining 54 yards on 24 carries, a 2.3 yard average. New York entered the game last in the league in rushing, averaging roughly 70 yards.

"Despite all the negativity out there in the run game, we made some progress there late in the second half," McAdoo said Monday after looking at the videotape of the game.

The bright spot was the play of rookie Paul Perkins, who had 32 yards on 11 carries. He gained 17 yards on four rushes late in the fourth quarter as the Giants tried to run out the clock.

Perkins had as many carries as veteran Rashad Jennings, who finished with 26 yards.

"We balanced up the touches there a little bit," McAdoo said. "It's tough to give one guy, feature one guy in the running game these days. You need a couple of guys that can carry the ball for you. He (Perkins) had some good opportunities in there. Some clean looks. On the toss crack, he did a nice job finding the seam. He kept his balance and had a nice run there at the end."

Besides Perkins, McAdoo also used two other rookies, receiver Roger Lewis Jr. and tight end Jerrel Adams, with the team coming out of the break.

Lewis caught a 30-yard touchdown and had drops on two others. Adams had three catches for 24 yards and was called for a procedure penalty.

"I think it does a lot for your team," McAdoo said. "It gives 46 guys an opportunity to play. I think it helps the veterans and breathes some life in the veterans in the long season. They have young guys that are champing at the bit. They bring excitement and energy. It's fun to see the young guys have success."

NOTES: McAdoo benched first-round draft pick Eli Apple for poor play Sunday. "We're going to dust Eli off, put him back out there," McAdoo said of the cornerback. "He's going to get better and learn from it." ... McAdoo said the Giants were planning to ask the league about an interception by the Eagles Nolan Carroll in the fourth quarter. McAdoo felt Beckham had the ball going to the ground. .... Backup QB Ryan Nassib is going to be limited this week with an elbow injury, McAdoo said.

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