Justin Pugh: Giants are "pretty happy," but still need to get better

After three attempts, the New York Giants have earned their first victory of the 2015 season. A big reason for that is the offensive line who has held up admirably despite injuries to both of the starting tackles. Even though Justin Pugh played well for his first career start a left tackle, he thinks he could play even better.

"I think I played well," Pugh said. "There are obviously some things I can do better, some technique stuff that I have to work on, but I went out there and competed, fought hard, and I’m just happy to get the win. Everyone up front did our job last night."

Thanks in part to the valiant effort of the offensivee line, the Giants can rest easy with a victory. The mood in the locker room, according to Pugh, has taken a drastic change for the better.

"Yeah, everyone is definitely pretty happy today," Pugh said on Friday. "It was a Thursday night game so guys can go see their families this weekend, which is nice. It’s something that we’ve been so close the past two weeks to finally get over that hump, and to win the game is definitely huge. Hopefully it’s the spark that gets us going and really sets the tone for this next part of the season."

The Giants can't stop to appreciate the win, however, and must get back to business. Pugh understands that the Giants have to do a better job closing out games.

"That second half of the fourth quarter, I think we could have done better in some of the run blocking areas," Pugh said. "That would have gotten us into the 70 plays that we’re looking for and gotten us over the 100-yard mark that we’re looking for, so that’s where we have to finish stronger, in those areas."

Pugh agreed with Tom Coughlin's much debated decision to throw the ball within the final two minutes of the game.

"Yeah, I love that," Pugh said. "I mean for us to go out there, we complete that throw, and the game is over. You have to be able to do those types of things and keep the defense guessing because you know they’re putting nine guys down in the box every time."