Jason Pinnock feels he’s playing the best football of his career.
The Giants’ safety is in his second season with the team and has played an integral role in their surging defense, which has surrendered 14, 14, 13, 19 and seven points in five of the last seven weeks.
They forced nine turnovers the last two games before the bye, wins over the Commanders and Patriots, respectively.
Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale has previously praised Pinnock, who believes he and the defense as a whole are now all in sync in Martindale’s scheme.
“Finally understanding [my role],” Pinnock told The Post after practice Tuesday. “People on the outside don’t understand when you’re thrown in a system, I got here 10 days before the first game last year. You’re playing the game off of memorization, not understanding all the pieces in front of you.
“The offseason, staying here the whole year, being able to dissect the philosophy of the defense, that’s what slowed the game down for me, and I could let my athletic abilities show.”
He’s now tasked with helping slow down the Packers and quarterback Jordan Love, who have rolled to three straight wins.
Love has completed 68.5 percent of his passes for 857 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions during that stretch, recording a 116.9 passer rating.
“He extends plays,” Pinnock said. “He’s young, he can use those feet, deep ball is good, he’s accurate as hell. I watched them Sunday night, he’s calm, collected. You can tell he learned from a good one.”
It is unlikely Darren Waller (hamstring) will return against the Packers. He’s been on the injured list since Nov. 4.
“I would still probably lean more ‘no’ than ‘yes,’ but don’t want to rule it out,” head coach Brian Daboll said.
Dexter Lawrence (hamstring) and Evan Neal (ankle) did not practice Tuesday.
Daboll gave his blessing to running backs coach Jeff Nixon after ESPN reported Syracuse is targeting him to be the school’s next offensive coordinator under new head coach Fran Brown.
If he does get the job, though, Daboll expects Nixon to finish out the season with the Giants.
“I worked with Jeff back in 2011, got a lot of respect for him and his family,” Daboll said. “Something we’ve talked about. He hasn’t made that decision yet but an opportunity to be a coordinator, whether it’s in the pros or Division I-A, those are hard to come by.”
Saquon Barkley was named the Giants’ nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award.
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