The New York Giants suffered a mostly ugly defeat at the hands of the New Orleans Saints in Week Six, falling 34-27 to drop to 3-2-1. Despite it all, they remain atop the NFC East.
Big Blue fell behind early and remained in a hole well into the second half, trailing 27-10 heading into the fourth quarter. Quarterback Jameis Winston turned in his worst performance of the season, prompting the aggressive John Harbaugh to turn to newly acquired J.J. McCarthy in hopes of sparking the offense.
McCarthy did just that, throwing for 243 yards on 11-of-21 passing, with one touchdown and one interception. The 23-year-old also scrambled for 26 yards, putting up those numbers in just 11 minutes of play.
Now, he gets an opportunity lead from the very start, as he was named Big Blue’s starter for their Week 7 clash against the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon.
The hope is that there will be a run game to support him, considering it was nonexistent throughout the Saints game, with starting running back Cam Skattebo benched by Harbaugh due to his recurring fumbling issues.
New York’s defense also had its worst showing of the season, allowing a season-high 34 points to Tyler Shough and the Saints.
The test gets much tougher in Houston.
After starting the season 0-4, the Texans have clicked over the past two weeks, winning back-to-back games while scoring 60 points.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud appears to be finding his stride again after struggling for years to recapture the form that made him the 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year. Even through the Texans’ rough start to the season, much of which can be attributed to their defense, Stroud performed at a high level. This year, Stroud has thrown for 1,714 yards, the second-most in the league behind Matthew Stafford, while completing 65.3% of his passes and posting an impressive 9-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Second-year wide receiver Jaylin Noel stepped up in London last week against the Jaguars, recording 107 yards and one touchdown on four catches. The wide receiver trio of Noel, Nico Collins, and Marvin Harrison Jr. has given Stroud plenty of weapons to work with in the passing game.
The Texans do not have an effective run game, especially with starter David Montgomery missing with a groin injury. The 29-year-old is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against Big Blue. Having not played since 2024, running back Tank Dell is set to make his long-awaited return for the Texans in Week 7.
Despite having the most dominant defense in the league just a season ago, the Texans’ defense has been just average in 2026. The team has experienced many late-game defensive collapses while having a consistently vulnerable Secondary.
A key to success for the Giants this week may be to let J.J. McCarthy fly and take risks. Harbaugh has named McCarthy as his starting quarterback for Sunday. The connection between McCarthy and Malik Nabers looked impressive in their short time together; a full game with that tandem may be exactly what the Giants need.
If the Giants defense can somehow disrupt Stroud and the Texans’ passing game, forcing the ball on the ground, they will have a good chance to pull off a tough victory.
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