A cherished moment for a rookie is a strange source of pain for the Giants.
Sixth-round draft pick Darius Muasau’s leaping interception of a pass tipped by Dexter Lawrence late in the fourth quarter of the season-opener remains the Giants’ only interception in 10 games this season.
“It was a very special moment for me, to happen in my first NFL game,” Muasau told The Post after Thursday’s practice. “I took everything home from that game — framed my jersey and the ball and put it up in my home. I just remember Dex getting his big paw up, focusing on going up, getting the ball and knowing there was a receiver next to me, too.”
If the Giants don’t intercept a pass Sunday against the Buccaneers, they will tie an NFL record (since 1933) for the longest single-season drought by any team (10 games).
Sam Darnold threw the interception to Muasau, a linebacker who has been a healthy scratch in two games since Week 1. The Giants will face Baker Mayfield next.
Darnold (No. 3) and Mayfield (No. 1) were the first two quarterbacks drafted in 2018, and both are enjoying resurgent years on the fourth team of their careers. Will the commonalities end there?
“We have to execute more,” Muasau said. “I feel like one is coming this week. Our defensive backs are on top of it.”
CB Dru Phillips (hip) was added to the injury report after Thursday’s practice but was listed as a full participant.
LB Matt Adams (knee), TE Theo Johnson (back), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (wrist) and RG Greg Van Roten (abdomen) were upgraded to full participants.
WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton (Achilles), Lawrence (knee), S Tyler Nubin (back) and Muasau (hamstring) remained limited.
The Giants bypassed a 56-yard field goal in their last game, against the Panthers in Germany.
It was the first game back from a seven-game absence with a hamstring injury for strong-legged kicker Graham Gano, which raised a question of whether he still can be a weapon when the Giants’ drives stall out around the 40-yard line. He is coming off an extra week to heal after the bye.
“In his first game back, we felt that he was back to his normal range,” special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial said. “We wouldn’t have put him out there [to play] if we didn’t think that he had the ability, if we had to necessarily condense his range.”
Then again, the Giants put a limited Gano on the field with a groin injury in Week 2.