The New York Giants' vaunted defense had no answers for a transcendent Aaron Rodgers in the final 33 minutes of Sunday's season-ending loss to the Green Bay Packers.
If their playoff itinerary had extended just one more week, though, the Giants would have had the luxury of their best pass rusher.
Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said Monday that he "definitely" would have returned from his core-muscle surgery had his team advanced to the Divisional Round.
An impending free agent, Pierre-Paul added that he won't be signing another one-year contract in New York.
"I've done proved it," Pierre-Paul explained, via NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. "... There's not a guy like me doing it with seven and a half fingers."
While that statement is technically correct, Pierre-Paul isn't going to receive extra credit from front offices around the league for losing digits in a Fourth of July fireworks accident.
Despite this, Giants general manager Jerry Reese wants to Pierre-Paul to remain with the team.
"Of course we want him back," Reese said Monday. "He's a good football player."
When Pierre-Paul returned from the injury for the final eight games of the 2015 season, he managed just one sack while playing with a club on his hand. After ditching the club for a glove this year, he progressed to seven sacks -- including 5.5 over a two-game span to close out November.
He was just hitting his stride prior to the core-muscle injury, earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors while drawing consideration for the Comeback Player of the Year award.
"This is the new me," Pierre-Paul said in late November. "I got to adjust to what I'm capable of doing with my hand. I feel this is as well as I've played since my new beginning last year. I'm like a rookie all over again."
Pierre-Paul is set to test free agency shortly after his 28th birthday. As a proven pass rusher with strong run defense, he has a chance to regain the $60 million contract that New York rescinded after the fireworks accident.
Will the Giants make him an offer he can't refuse before he reaches the open market in March?