CLEVELAND: Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor used a kill-them-with-kindness approach after taking more barbs from New York Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins.
Pryor caught six passes for a game-high 131 yards on 12 targets in Sunday’s 27-13 loss to the Giants.
Then Jenkins opened his potty mouth on social media.
“@TerrellePryor You a Sh*t Eater to me, u really sucks.. #,” Jenkins wrote on Twitter.
In a separate tweet, Jenkins discounted Pryor’s production by saying he caught passes in zone coverage as opposed to man-to-man coverage.
Pryor responded by tweeting: “You are a great corner. Solid defender! You played a solid game. God Bless !! Good luck rest of year.”
He also added Jenkins is “easily” a top-three corner in the NFL, and he’s “worth every dime.”
Pryor might not show as much restraint if he meets with Browns beat writers Monday.
Last week, Jenkins told New York reporters his matchup with Pryor wouldn’t be a big challenge “because he is another receiver. He is just big.”
Pryor responded Friday by tweeting, “Talk is talk. We will see Sunday. Never wanted to play the game as much as I do this Sunday!”
After the game, Pryor was asked about the feud.
“I’ve got a lot of respect,” he said. “I’m not going to go that way. Did it anger me? Yeah, I was mad because, whatever, I’m not going to go there, but I respect every player in the league, because it’s hard to stay in this league, and it’s hard to be great in the league.”
Of Pryor’s six catches, at least two came with Jenkins covering him.
On first-and-goal from the 7-yard line, Jenkins also broke up quarterback Josh McCown’s pass to Pryor in the back left corner of the end zone with five seconds left in the first half. Pryor gestured to an official as if he thought Jenkins should have been flagged for a holding or interference penalty that wasn’t called. The Browns then settled for Cody Parkey’s 25-yard field goal and a 14-6 halftime deficit.
“My performance wasn’t good enough because I didn’t do enough to contribute for us to win,” Pryor said. “No touchdowns, which is most important. I don’t care if I have 5, 6 yards, if I’m scoring touchdowns and helping the team. Putting points on the board would be a big game for me.”
Still, Pryor became the first Browns player to record at least five receptions in five consecutive games since wide receiver Kevin Johnson in Weeks 10-14 in 1999.
“TP is getting better and better,” McCown said. “You try to find positives in moments like this, and he is certainly one of those. He is just going to keep continuing to improve from being out there with him. He has an impressive skill set, and we see that getting honed every week.”
This is Pryor’s first full season as a wide receiver after he switched from quarterback in the summer of 2015. He has three 100-yard receiving games this season and leads the Browns in receptions (62), receiving yards (855) and touchdown catches (four).
With 12:47 left in the fourth quarter, Pryor beat rookie cornerback Eli Apple and caught a 54-yard pass from McCown. But McCown was strip-sacked by defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins two plays later, and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul returned the fumble 43 yard for a touchdown to give the Giants a 20-6 lead with 10:58 remaining.
“The way our defense played today, you can win a game that way,” Pryor said. “We could have beat that team. It’s sad. ... We could’ve won that game and, offensively, we just didn’t do it.”
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.