New York Giants 24 – Houston Texans 16

Jaylon Smith and Dexter Lawrence – © USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK GIANTS 24 – HOUSTON TEXANS 16…
The New York Giants defeated the Houston Texans 24-16 on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. With the win, the surprising Giants are now 7-2 on the season.

In terms of overall team statistics, the Texans actually held advantages in first downs (22 to 19), total net yards (387 to 367), and net yards passing (286 to 176). But the Giants were better on 3rd down (50% to 30%), rushing the ball (191 to 101), and time of possession (33:20 to 26:40). The Giants also won the turnover battle 2 to 0.

The New York defense completely shut down the Texans in the 1st quarter, forcing three separate 3-and-outs as Houston was held to -3 yards. Meanwhile, the Giants took an early 7-0 lead that they never relinquished by driving 68 yards in 10 plays on their first drive. Aside from two short third-down conversions, the big play on this drive was a 36-yard completion from quarterback Daniel Jones to wide receiver Darius Slayton. Two plays later, Jones connected with tight end Lawrence Cager for the 9-yard touchdown pass.

After that impressive opening drive, the New York offense slept walk for the remainder of the first half. The Giants punted four straight times before having their final possession of the half end with a sack. Houston wasn’t much better, punting two more times for a total of five times in six drives. However, early in the 2nd quarter running back Dameon Pierce broke off a 44-yard run. This set up a 38-yard field goal.

At the half, the Giants led 7-3.

After combining for just 10 points in the first half, both teams exploded for three straight touchdowns in the 3rd quarter. The Giants received the football after halftime and they needed just five plays to travel 75 yards for the score. On 3rd-and-9 from the New York 46-yard line, Jones threw a short pass to Slayton, who made man miss e route to a 54-yard catch-and-run score. Giants 14 – Texans 3.

But just as it seemed like the Giants had finally taken control of the game, Houston responded with a 7-play, 75-yard effort. The drive ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Davis Mills to wide receiver Nico Collins. Giants 14 – Texans 10.

Back came the Giants, this time driving 74 yards in 12 plays. New York converted on two 3rd-and-7 yard situations, the first being an 11-yard pass to wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson and the second a 26-yard pass to wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins. Running back Saquon Barkley finished the possession with a 2-yard touchdown run. Giants 21 – Texans 10.

The Giants’ defense began to bend again on the ensuing possession with tight end Jordan Akins breaking off a 46-yard catch-and-run as the 3rd quarter ended. But two plays later, on 2nd-and-goal from the 10-yard line, defensive lineman Leonard Williams forced Pierce to fumble. The loose ball was recovered by inside linebacker Jaylon Smith. The Giants went three-and-out with a 13-yard punt by Jamie Gillan. A 19-yard Houston touchdown pass was wiped out by a holding penalty against defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence. On the very next snap, Lawrence pressured the quarterback and his pass was intercepted in the end zone by safety Dane Belton.

The Giants picked up a couple of first downs and then punted. Starting from their own 8-yard line, Houston drove 76 yards in 12 plays, but could get no closer than the 16-yard line. The Texans settled for a 34-yard field goal with 2:22 left in the game. Giants 21 – Texans 13.

The ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Giants. The Giants did not pick up a first down, but they forced the Texans to use their remaining time outs and place kicker Graham Gano nailed the 49-yard field goal to extend the lead to 24-13 with less than two minutes to play.

The Texans gained 58 yards on three straight passes, but then Mills was sacked by safety Jason Pinnock on 1st-and-10 from the New York 17-yard line.With just 11 seconds on the clock, the Texans kicked the 46-yard field goal. They attempted another onside kick, but the Giants recovered that as well and the game ended on a kneel down by Jones.

Jones finished the game 13-of-17 for 197 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 153.3. Slayton had three catches for 95 yards and a touchdown. Barkley rushed 35 times for 152 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, the Giants accrued four sacks: 1.5 by Pinnock, one each by Lawrence and outside linebacker Jihad Ward, and 0.5 sacks by Williams. Lawrence had a monster game, being credited with 5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 5 quarterback hits, and 1 pass defense. Williams had 9 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and 1 forced fumble. Cornerback Adoree’ Jackson had 6 tackles and 2 pass defenses.

GAME VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS are available on YouTube.

ROSTER MOVES, PRACTICE SQUAD ACTIVATIONS, INACTIVES, AND INJURY REPORT…
On Saturday, the Giants activated OT Matt Peart from the Reserve/Physically-Unable-to-Perform List. Peart tore his left ACL in December 2021 and only returned to practice on October 25.

The Giants activated (standard elevation) TE Lawrence Cager and DL Henry Mondeaux from the Practice Squad to the 53-man roster on the same day.

Inactive for the game were TE Daniel Bellinger (eye), RT Evan Neal (knee), WR David Sills, OT Devery Hamilton, ILB Austin Calitro, and OLB Quincy Roche.

POST-GAME REACTION…
Transcripts and video clips of post-game media sessions with Head Coach Brian Daboll and the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

• Head Coach Brian Daboll (Video)
• QB Daniel Jones (Video)
• RB Saquon Barkley (Video)
• WR Darius Slayton
• TE Lawrence Cager
• DL Dexter Lawrence (Video)
• DL Leonard Williams (Video)
• OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (Video)
• S Julian Love (Video)
• S Dane Belton

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Head Coach Brian Daboll and select players will address the media by conference call on Monday.