Justin Pugh's first NFL snap is waved off

Justin Pugh’s first NFL play was a false start. Not on him, but for him.

When Eli Manning’s pass for Ramses Barden in the end zone late in the second quarter drew a flag for pass interference and the Giants were ready to have the ball on first-and-goal at the 1, Pugh ran onto the field for his first snap as part of the jumbo package. He would be lined up as a blocking tight end.

“I thought, ‘Oh my god, I’m in here with the ones, we’re going to get a touchdown, they’re going to run right to my side,’” Pugh said, “and all of a sudden you have all these things going on in your mind and they wave off the flag and I’ve got to come back off the field. I’m sitting there waiting for the refs to get done so I can report my number eligible, but it didn’t work out.”

The officials conferred and picked up the flag because Barden and Delano Howell had their feet tangled and the contact was incidental. Manning’s next pass was also incomplete to Brandon Myers and the Giants settled for a field goal.

Pugh came on the field for the start of the next series, though, playing left tackle with the second-string.

“I think just knowing what I had to do was something that definitely helped me out,” he said of what looked to be a pretty solid performance. “I had some good plays, I had some not-so-good plays that I wish I could get back, but I think overall, definitely learning from this, I’ll be able to get better next week. I’m just excited to get out there and practice and correct some of the mistakes I had.”