Copr. Yahoo Sports 2026

The New York Giants travel to the Lone Star State to do battle with the Houston Texans before their bye week. New York has stalled in their campaign to take full control of the NFC East in the last two weeks, tying with the Washington Commanders and falling at home to the New Orleans Saints in back-to-back contests after a 3-1 start to the season.

The Texans on the other hand, have quickly acquired new life after a four-game skid to start the year, decimating the Tennessee Titans on October 11th and following up with a hard fought victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London last Sunday to find themselves sitting at 2-4 and firmly back in the AFC East conversation.

These two franchises came into the year with vastly different expectations for certain position groups than what has come to pass so far. The Giants started 2026 with renewed belief in their pass rush and a heavy focus on mending their porous run defense over the last two seasons while their secondary was expected to be a major concern against opposing signal callers. The reverse appears to be the case seven weeks into the season, as the G-Men rank 29th in the league in opposing rushing YPG (135.5) and 31st in opponent yards per rush (5.0) while their pass defense has been a pleasant surprise a third of the way into the year. Big Blue ranks fifth in opponent passing YPG (190.2) and sixth in interception rate (4.02%).

However, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has been playing some of the best football of his career to start the season. Stroud has slung the football for 1,714 yards (second in the league), nine touchdowns and only one interception which came last weekend against Jacksonville with a 65.6 QBR. This looks to be the toughest test for the New York pass defense since going up against Rams QB Matthew Stafford in a week two loss.

The opposite end of possessions are more of an anomaly to predict for this weekend. The Giants announced yesterday afternoon that J.J. McCarthy will take the reins at QB after an explosive fourth quarter performance in relief of the struggling Jameis Winston. McCarthy threw for 243 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The former Viking was also one progression away from finding a wide open Malik Nabers in the endzone to bring the Giants all the way back from a 34-10 deficit, although the offensive line around him collapsed before he had time to see the opening. McCarthy will look to build on the dynamic outing against an underperforming Houston pass defense in his proper season debut.

Copr. FOX Sport 2025

Houston has allowed 246 passing YPG (27th in the NFL) to opposing quarterbacks through their first six games, and return home from London after allowing Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence to throw for 306 yards and four touchdowns. The one positive of the Texans pass defense is their QB pressure, with a sack rate of 7.63% (10th). Defensive end Will Anderson Jr. has been a demon in opposing backfields, leading the league in sacks with 7.5 and will look to terrorize the young McCarthy in Reliant Stadium.

Giants running back Cam Skattebo only played six snaps at home last weekend as a presumed punishment for his game-costing fumble against the Washington Commanders two weeks ago. Expect the second-year back to play with a massive chip on his shoulder against one of the NFL’s best run defenses. Houston has only allowed 83 rushing YPG this season, and the Giants confidence in the overall running back room appears to be shambles following the release of Najee Harris this week. Creating space for running lanes will be a tall task against this Houston unit.

The General Consensus

We try to be as positive as possible heading into every Giants matchup, but it’s hard to inspire much confidence when dealing with an opponent that’s beginning to realize its potential such as Houston. Their offense has been explosive in October, scoring 26 points or more in three straight contests. Although New York has almost mirrored them in this regard (27-plus points in three straight weeks) their consistency has been an issue with the absence of Jaxson Dart in the lineup. A win depends almost entirely on the question mark that is J.J. McCarthy, but given his track record in Minnesota, don’t expect much this week is all we’re saying.

Prediction: Texans-34 Giants-17

-Jack Barber

Works Cited

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/team/houston-texans/stats

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/team/new-york-giants/stats

https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/4685724/will-anderson-jr

https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/4432577/cj-stroud

https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/4360310/trevor-lawrence

https://www.espn.com/nfl/game/_/gameId/401873016/giants-texans