GIANTS 27, TEXANS 22
Another bad loss for the Texans in the home opener
Once again, the Texans dropped a game they could have won and are now 0-3 on the season. This time it was the New York Giants beating them 27-22 in NRG Stadium. The story of the game was the continuing lack of first half offense and a high number of penalties. Today’s total was 7 penalties for 50 yards. Four of those were false starts by the offensive line. The score at halftime was 20-6 in favor of the Giants and Houston managed only 160 total yards of offense at the break.
Defensively the Texans struggled to get off the field. The Giants scored points on their first four drives of the game putting the Texans in a hole they couldn’t climb out of. Saquon Barkley led the way on the ground with 82 yards and a touchdown on the way to a huge time of possession difference. The Giants held the ball for over 35 minutes while Houston had it for only about 24.
Things turned around in the second half. The defense was able to apply more pressure up front and forced New York into four consecutive punts. J.J. Watt looked more like the player we were hoping he would be, getting three sacks (one was a strip of Eli Manning) and making another huge tackle for loss. He finished the day with eight tackles and was a disruptive force.
The Texans secondary was once again vulnerable. Manning finished the day 25 of 29 for 297 yards, 2 touchdowns and a 132.3 quarterback rating. Offensively they added another 115 yards on the ground for a total output of 380 yards. The Giants played most of the game with a huge lead and it never looked close.
While Deshaun Watson finally got the offense moving in the second half with 249 passing yards and 2 touchdowns; it was a crucial interception he threw in the third quarter that halted a promising drive deep in Giants territory. That was Houston’s second drive to end on a turnover as a Lamar Miller fumble ended the previous one just outside the red zone. It was those lost opportunities to score that kept the Texans from having any chance to come back in this one.
Ka’imi Fairbairn was 3 for 3 with a long of 54 yards today, which gave Houston its early points. And once again Will Fuller proved he and Watson have a great connection as he hauled in another touchdown among his 5 receptions for 101 yards, getting the score within 5 points, 20-15. The Giants came right back and made it 27-15 on a pass to Sterling Shepard. The scoring ended with a short Watson pass to Lamar Miller getting the Texans to 22 points, but the Giants were able to run the clock out and end the game.
