There were times Sunday — and you felt the need sometimes to jot it down for posterity — that Daniel Jones wasn't required to do his best Harrison Ford in "The Fugitive," constantly embattled and running away, this time no figurative Tommy Lee Jones in high speed pursuit.

That's because somebody was blocking.

There were times Sunday when the football Giants actually ran the ball, too, occasional lanes bigger than the usual gnat's eyelash.

That's because somebody was blocking.

Somebody, in this case, was Matt Peart, the UConn grad, the big fella with from roots from Jamaica and the Bronx. Peart, who came to Big Blue without the fanfare of other draft choices, harbored enough give-a-damn to emerge into the lineman with the team's highest blocking grade per Pro Football Focus, following the Giants' 20-19 victory over Washington.

Peart was the surprise starter at left tackle after first-rounder and starter Andrew Thomas missed a meeting Saturday night and was benched.

"I'm just happy for him. We all are," UConn coach Randy Edsall said earlier this week. "This is what he's worked so hard for. He's made sacrifices. He got himself in a position to get the opportunity and then look what he did with it. I'm so proud."

Pro Football Focus' system, rid of all the hideous football techno-babble, essentially grades the role of each lineman as run blockers and pass blockers, emphasizing the avoidance of negative plays. Peart graded the highest (overall score of 90.6) among all the linemen.

No need for the first Wally Pipp reference. Yet. And then this: Peart also didn't run afoul of radio color commentator (and former Giants great) Carl Banks, who often refers to missed blocks as "no hitters" for Giants linemen. (Some of them have more no hitters than Nolan Ryan in recent years.)

"Matt bought into everything we did," Edsall said. "A leader for us. A captain. On our Leadership Council. A guy I would go to. He would work on his own when other guys didn't. He would do the kinds of things you try to impress upon the younger guys on how to go about your business."

Funny, too, how Peart and a kid they call "Mr. Irrelevant," Tae Crowder, were the biggest among the Giants in a win the G-Men needed more than a lung. Peart was a third-round pick. Crowder, the last player drafted (hence the good-natured Mr. Irrelevant tag) had 10 tackles and a scoop-and-score that gave the Giants the lead for good. There is a lesson here.

"It's just like what (Giants coach) Joe Judge said after the game," Edsall said. "It doesn't matter where you were picked. We're going to play the best guys. We tell our guys all the time that it doesn't matter if you are a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior. The best guys play. It happened to (running back) Donald Brown, who had a really good year for us once and then hardly played the next. It's always a great lesson. And Matt understands that."

Peart started 48 games at UConn and graduated with a degree in allied health science with a concentration in occupational therapy. He was recruited here by Bob Diaco, indicating that Capt. Queeg did at least one thing right during his bizarro time here.

Peart's emergence with the Giants was a nice reminder that, yes, there's still a football program at UConn. Edsall and his players, despite the COVID-related hiatus this fall, are working, lifting and practicing, getting ready for better days.

Put it this way: UConn could point to a good weekend, watching an emerging NFL lineman. At least the Huskies weren't UMass, who played their first game of the year at Georgia Southern and lost 41-0. Next up: at Marshall on Nov. 7. Sources say Huntington, West Va. is lovely this time of year.

Edsall said there are no regrets whatsoever about forgoing this season amid a pandemic. The schedule is all but complete for next year. His players will be back bigger, stronger and faster.

And when he hits the recruiting trail, he gets to talk about Matt Peart, who reinforced a valuable lesson to us all again Sunday. You needn't go to Alabama to make a difference in the NFL.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro