Before his infamous July 4 accident last year, Jason Pierre-Paul had two interception returns for touchdowns in his career.

Once the fireworks accident did significant and permanent damage to his hand, his days of picking off passes appeared over. But there was Pierre-Paul on Sunday, returning an interception 43 yards for a touchdown to give the Giants a 20-13 lead over the Cleveland Browns, a lead that held up in New York’s 27-13 victory on Sunday.

That’s impressive.

Pierre-Paul has played well with his hand injuries, which is good for him as he heads toward free agency next offseason. He had a big day against the Browns. He had a couple sacks before his interception. The pick wasn’t exactly Golden Tate snagging a Matthew Stafford fastball out of midair, but it was a big play nonetheless. Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins hit Browns quarterback Josh McCown on a sack and the ball popped up in the air. Pierre-Paul made a nice change of direction to get to the pass, he hauled it in and had nothing but green grass in front of him for a touchdown.

Given all that Pierre-Paul has been through since July 4 last year, it had to be a nice for him to get in the end zone for his third career touchdown.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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