The Texans head into Sunday with a familiar kind of opening in front of them: a 2-4 record, a vulnerable opponent, and the kind of runway that can suddenly turn a season if they can cash in. Houston was in this exact spot a year ago after six games in the 2025 regular season, and that team answered with a nine-game winning streak to close the year. Now, with an appealing stretch ahead, the same kind of surge is sitting there again.
This time, the setup may be even friendlier. The New York Giants are dealing with a long list of injury problems on defense, and the absences keep stacking up.
Newsweek’s Rowan Fisher-Shotton reported that, beyond Jaxson Dart, the Giants have already lost Brian Burns for the season with an ACL injury and Tremaine Edmunds for the rest of 2026 after a torn chest muscle and right shoulder injury. Cornerback Greg Newsome II is also expected to miss the Texans game because of a concussion.
That wasn’t the end of it. NFL insider Adam Schefter reported Saturday that safety Jevon Holland and tight end Theo Johnson were both downgraded to out.
Holland had been listed as questionable, while Johnson had been doubtful before the final change. Holland’s loss stings in particular.
Through six games, he has 30 tackles, a league-leading three interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery, and he was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for September. With him out, Jason Pinnock and Ar’Darius Washington are expected to shoulder more of the work at safety.
Still, the Giants are not walking into this game without any fight. They came close to pulling off a major comeback with third string quarterback J.J.
McCarthy, whom they traded for not long ago, after falling behind the New Orleans Saints 34-10. New York ultimately came up short, losing 34-27.
Even with that resilience, the Giants enter Sunday short-handed in a big way. That gives Houston a real chance to do what it did a year ago: shake off a rough stretch and start building something in a hurry. If the Texans can stack another win here, three straight would be very much in play after a four-game losing streak.
In Other News...
DeMeco Ryans Sounds Alarm After Texans Loss Exposes Bigger Problems
The Texans came out of overtime with another costly loss, and the bigger concern inside the locker room was how many familiar issues showed up at once. At 2-5, Houston is staring at an uneven start that has been shaped not just by missed chances, but by the kind of sloppy stretches that can undo a game in a hurry. DeMeco Ryans pointed to the offense, the penalties and the coverage breakdowns after the loss to the Giants, all of which left the Texans trying to explain why a winnable afternoon slipped away.
Amid the frustration, there was at least one encouraging sign in Tank Dell's return. Dell made a 43-yard catch-and-run and gave Houston a burst it has been missing, and Ryans said the team plans to expand his workload going forward. For a Texans offense looking for answers, getting Dell back into a bigger role could matter just as much as cleaning up the mistakes that have piled up around him. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Have A Bigger Problem Than The Halftime Score
The first half in Houston had the look of a game that could tilt either way, with the Texans and Giants trading scoring drives and settling into a 14-14 tie at the break. Ka'imi Fairbairn helped keep Houston in it with long field goals, while Marvin Harrison Jr. gave the offense a touchdown catch to answer New York's strikes from Tyrone Tracy and Jameis Winston.
But the bigger concern for Houston was not the scoreboard so much as how quickly the Giants were able to answer and how little separation the Texans managed to create. A tied halftime can still leave plenty of room for a clean finish, but it also leaves the Texans with a need for sharper execution on both sides if they want to avoid letting a winnable game slip away. [Read more 🡒]
Woody Marks Suddenly Has A Texans Opportunity Fans Need To Watch
David Montgomery being ruled out with a groin injury changes the Texans backfield picture in a hurry, and it leaves Woody Marks in line for a much bigger role than he has had to carry so far. With Jawhar Jordan also unavailable, Houstons running game suddenly leans on a player who will need to handle the bulk of the work against the New York Giants, with Dare Ogunbowale and Deuce Vaughn behind him for support.
Offensive coordinator Nick Caley has already signaled that Marks should see a significant workload, which makes this one of the more interesting roster developments heading into the week. For a Texans offense looking to keep balance, the question now is not whether Marks will be involved, but how the team chooses to deploy him with the depth chart thinned out around him. [Read more 🡒]