STARTING TIGHT MEND

Engram on shelf for weeks - just when Giants' O was heating up

Pat Shurmur was making the rounds as a winning Giants head coach for the first time, in the visiting locker room in Houston on Sunday, when he stopped by the locker occupied by Rhett Ellison. The two have a history: Ellison was with the Vikings when Shurmur ran the offense in Minnesota.

“Good job, Rhett,” Shurmur said as the two embraced.

Before parting, Shurmur looked directly at Ellison, smiled and said, “Tough guys win games.”

Ellison is a tough guy, and his role is about to expand.

There is good news/bad news when it comes to Giants tight end Evan Engram, who was forced out of the 27-22 victory over the Texans. Engram said something did not feel right in his right knee, and he was proven correct. An MRI exam Monday revealed a sprain to the medial collateral ligament, a source confirmed.

The injury does not require surgery to fix, but Engram will miss time. There is typically a three-orfour week recovery period for a sprained MCL. It is possible Engram could miss the next five games and not be available until after the Week 9 bye, though an earlier return is certainly possible.

This is a blow to an offense that finally looked in sync in a 20-point first half against the Texans and in a key fourth-quarter touchdown drive to secure win No. 1. Engram is a weapon down the field as a pass-catcher, a skill none of the other Giants tight ends possess in such abundance.

Engram was hurt early in the second quarter when he was hit low by cornerback Kareem Jackson after a 19-yard reception, his only catch of the game. Jackson also was the one who lowered his helmet and hit Saquon Barkley on the knee on Barkley’s first rushing attempt of the game. With the NFL cracking down on helmet-to-helmet hits, these sorts of low hits are inevitable.

“I think that’s part of playing football,’’ Shurmur said Monday. “When you’re running with the football, you have to protect yourself, and certainly when you’re getting tackled by defensive backs. Then we had another low tackle on [Sterling Shepard] ... you’ve just got to be able to protect yourself. Their style of tackling was to go low. Guys running with the ball have to be able to protect themselves.’’

Without Engram, the Giants will have to rely more heavily on Ellison and Scott Simonson, the other tight ends on the roster. Ellison is the superior blocker, but he chipped in against the Texans with three receptions for 39 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown catch late in the second quarter to put the Giants ahead 20-3.

Defensive tackle Damon “Snacks’’ Harrison came out of the game with a knee issue. Shurmur called it “just normal wear and tear,” and said, “I think Snacks is going to be fine.’’

Barkley missed the second offensive series after he was hit on the knee.

“Saquon is sore,’’ Shurmur said. “When he has as much activity as he’s going to have, he’s going to have some soreness, but he’s OK.’’

Barkley ran the ball 17 times for 82 yards — he had a 15yard touchdown run in the first quarter — and caught five passes for 35 yards. He was on the field for 44 of the 62 offensive snaps.

With a Week 4 game against the high-scoring Saints — they are averaging 34.7 points a game, trailing only the league-leading Chiefs (39.3) — the Giants could use all their available defensive starters. Outside linebacker Olivier Vernon has yet to play this season as he heals from a high ankle sprain. Shurmur described Vernon as doing “better’’ and noted he spotted him “running outside my window’’ on Monday.

“I think we’ll consider him day-today and see how far he can come with it,’’ Shurmur said. “He’s making progress, he hasn’t had any setbacks, and we just all know that these high ankle sprains take time.’’

Cornerback Eli Apple missed the Texans game with a strained groin. Shurmur said Apple also was running around the practice field on Monday.

“They were both running,’’ Shurmur said, “so we’ll just have to see how far along they can come.’’