This Christmas, Justin Pugh will be working his day job, starting at left guard for the Giants as they venture into Lincoln Financial Field to face the slumping Eagles in what promises to be an inhospitable holiday atmosphere.
Next Christmas, Pugh will be … where?
Will he have embarked on his real estate career, leaving behind his helmet and pads to concentrate on interest rates and property locations? Or will he be toiling away in the NFL for a 12th season, playing for the Giants, the only team he would consider if he and the team decide to run it back for another year?
A continuation of the relationship felt more plausible as the Giants extended their winning streak to three games after Randy Bullock’s field goal as time expired clinched a 24-22 victory over the Packers on Dec. 11.
“I’m enjoying playing football,’’ Pugh told The Post after that game. “That’s a high you can’t get anywhere else. When we made that game-winning kick, to see MetLife, I get goose bumps thinking about it. That’s why I came back.’’
The goose bumps turned to cold sweat after Pugh at left guard played his worst game of the season in last week’s 24-6 loss to the Saints in New Orleans.
He was hard on himself for failing to protect rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito and for the role he played in DeVito getting sacked seven times.
Pugh lamented that he had a hand in four of the sacks.
“This is the perfect time to show who I am as a man, who I am as a player,’’ Pugh said Wednesday after practice. “You’re gonna have bad games. I didn’t do my job on Sunday but it’s how you fight back from that adversity and that’s what I’m gonna do. That’s why I’m here.’’
Mostly, Pugh has been what the Giants desperately needed him to be when he was signed Oct. 3, initially to the practice squad.
Pugh had been rehabbing from the torn ACL he suffered in Week 6 last season that essentially ended his stay with the Cardinals after five years.
He spent his first five NFL seasons with the Giants as their 2013 first-round pick out of Syracuse, starting 72 games. In 2018, he signed a five-year, $45 million contract with the Cardinals.
Twelve days after returning to the Giants, Pugh started at left tackle in place of injured Andrew Thomas and played all 77 snaps in a 14-9 loss in Buffalo, a remarkable show of stamina, considering Pugh in the pregame broadcast introduction aptly announced that he came “straight off the couch.’’
Pugh eventually took over at left guard and in the past nine games has been on the field for 564 of a possible 565 snaps on offense.
On a line not exactly filled with big personalities, Pugh slid in and quickly emerged as a leader, bringing the group together for weekly dinners and counseling younger players on matters on and off the field.
Recently, rookie center John Michael Schmitz sought out Pugh for advice about the tax ramifications involved with purchasing property.
“I didn’t know him before we got here,’’ coach Brian Daboll said. “So, he’s been a pro in that room. I think he contributes in a positive way to all the younger players. He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. Glad we got him.’’
The locker inhabited by Daniel Bellinger, the second-year tight end, is adjacent to Pugh’s corner stall.
“The biggest thing I sense is just his leadership, how he can lead a group of guys,’’ Bellinger told The Post. “It’s definitely something cool to see, it’s like ‘OK, how would I want to be if I’m in his position 10 years from now?’ ’’
It has been difficult for Pugh, being away from his wife, who is pregnant with their first child and remained in the Phoenix area. If Pugh returns to the Giants, his wife and daughter will be with him in New Jersey.
Will he be asked back? Pugh turns 34 on Aug. 15, which would be training camp, 2024. Is general manager Joe Schoen interested in him as an older offensive lineman? Pugh could return as the starting left guard or as a backup, as he has experience at both guard and tackle.
“That’s up to Joe and how they want to build the team going forward,’’ Pugh said. “I think I definitely contributed and helped — I haven’t hurt the team since being here so I think that’s a positive.’’
Pugh arrived this season barely weighing in at 290 pounds, as he could not train for football because he was rehabbing from his reconstructive knee surgery.
If he plays in 2024, he is confident he would be able to get up to 300 pounds.
Pugh did not say for certain that he wants to continue on with the Giants, most likely because he did not want to come out and lobby for himself. He did say “real estate can wait, for sure’’ and gestured around the locker room, a place he has always enjoyed.
“You can’t get this back,’’ he said.