The Houston Texans had this one in front of them, then watched it slip away in the ugliest possible way.
After rallying late to force overtime, Houston fell 27-21 to the New York Giants in a Week 7 game that turned into a brutal finish for the Texans. The loss came despite another huge day from Ka'imi Fairbairn, two fourth-quarter touchdown drives, and a chance to steal it in the extra period. Instead, the Giants ended it quickly.
Fairbairn gave Houston its first points with a 58-yard field goal after an opening drive stalled at the Giants 40-yard line. He came right back in the second quarter and drilled a 57-yard kick to keep the Texans within striking distance.
New York answered first, though. J.J.
McCarthy connected with Malik Nabers on a deep shot that set up Tyrone Tracy's goal-line touchdown run, and the Giants grabbed a 7-3 lead. Later, McCarthy found Thomas Fidone on a busted coverage play, and Jameis Winston finished the drive by pushing through for a short touchdown to make it 14-6.
Houston finally got its passing game rolling before halftime. Tank Dell broke loose for a 43-yard catch-and-run, and C.J.
Stroud capped the sequence by finding Marvin Harrison Jr. in the back of the end zone for Harrison's first touchdown as a member of the Texans' receiving group. That tied the game at 14-14 going into the break.
The third quarter stayed stuck there, with defense - and mostly sloppy offense - holding both sides down.
Then the game started tilting New York's way again. Cam Skattebo powered through Houston's defense for a 16-yard touchdown to put the Giants back on top 21-14. But the Texans answered with a nine-play, 48-yard drive late in the fourth quarter, and Stroud hit Xavier Hutchinson on a scramble drill to make it 21-21.
Houston even gave itself one more shot by stopping the Giants' final drive with 11 seconds left, forcing overtime.
That only delayed the collapse.
On New York's first possession of overtime, Skattebo and former Texans running back Devin Singletary piled up 72 combined rushing yards and ended the game on the spot. The Giants walked off with a 27-21 win, and Houston was left with one of its worst losses of the season.
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 🡒]