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Storylines to follow as Giants head to Houston

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The Giants (3-2-1) will look to get back in the win column this weekend when they head to Houston for a Week 7 matchup against the Texans (2-4).

Down 24 points in the fourth quarter, the Giants staged a massive comeback against the Saints last week. After giving up 34 unanswered points, the Giants scored 17 unanswered themselves to get within seven. But Isaiah Likely was unable to corral a pass in the end zone in the final seconds as the Giants wound up falling, 34-27.

The Texans flew across the pond for a divisional matchup in London against the Jaguars this past weekend. Houston was able to stave off a late Jaguars comeback as Ka'imi Fairbairn made a 49-yard game-winning field goal as time expired to give the Texans their second consecutive victory.

Sunday's contest in Houston will be the Giants' final game before a Week 8 bye. Following some time off, John Harbaugh's squad will get right back into it with back-to-back NFC East matchups, first on the road against the Eagles and then a primetime matchup at home against the Commanders.

Here are storylines to follow in Week 7.

McCarthy to start

J.J. McCarthy will make his first start with the Giants as he takes over for Jameis Winston, coach John Harbaugh announced Wednesday afternoon. The move comes after McCarthy saw his first extended action with the team in the fourth quarter of last week's 34-27 loss against the Saints.

After throwing an interception on his first drive, McCarthy went on to lead the Giants to 17 unanswered points in a five-minute span in the fourth quarter. Taking out his four spikes to stop the clock, McCarthy completed 11 of 17 passes (64.7 percent) for 243 yards, one touchdown and the one interception. He also picked up a big 28-yard gain on the ground on the team's final drive, which got the Giants into Saints' territory with under a minute left. The Giants did have an opportunity to tie or win the game in the final seconds, but McCarthy's pass to Isaiah Likely in the end zone fell incomplete.

"He's got a heck of a skill set, you know?" Harbaugh told the media Wednesday. "He can throw it. He's picked up the offense really quickly. He's an athletic guy, obviously, and he's going to play some good football."

McCarthy's 243 passing yards were tied for the most by a Giant in a single quarter since at least 1991. Eli Manning also had 243 yards in the fourth quarter of a 2012 game against Tampa Bay.

"Just honored to be here in front of you guys, honored to be a quarterback for the New York Football Giants, and to be able to get an opportunity to go against a great Houston Texans team, and thrilled to get out there tomorrow, really get in the film room and just evaluate today's practice to get better and go from there..." McCarthy said Wednesday. "Every time you step on the field, it's an opportunity. Whether you're the starting guy, whether you're not, you have a chance to prove yourself, prove it to your peers, and prove it to everyone around you. And at the end of the day, I approach it the same way. How can I attack that next rep, how can I win this day and go from there."

View photos of the Giants on the practice field as they prepare for their Week 7 matchup against the Texans.

Nabers, Likely keep rolling

For the third consecutive week, wide receiver Malik Nabers and tight end Isaiah Likely accounted for most of the Giants' offense. Let's start with Nabers, who made history with his performance against the Saints. The third-year wideout was targeted 15 times and brought in 12 of those passes for 165 yards. The receptions matched his career-high, while the yardage fell just six shy of his previous high of 171 in the 2024 season finale.

Nabers now has 168 career receptions through the first 25 games of his NFL career, which surpassed Puka Nacua (159) for the second-most in NFL history. The only player that had more was Odell Beckham Jr., who caught 176 over his first 25 games. Nabers also became just the third player in NFL history with at least 10 receptions in five of his first 25 career games, while his three consecutive games with 100+ receiving yards marked just the seventh time the feat was accomplished by a Giant. His performance led to him being voted the FedEx Air & Ground Player of the Week Award, along with Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker.

Then there is Likely, who continued his torrid start to his Giants tenure with another strong performance. The athletic tight end brought in six of 11 targets for 99 yards and his fifth touchdown of the season. Likely now has the most touchdown receptions by a Giants tight end in their first six games with the team, and he sits just one touchdown shy of his previous career-high of six set in 2024. Meanwhile, he needs only four more receptions and 95 more receiving yards to set new career-highs in both categories.

Over the last three games, Nabers has been targeted 42 times, while Likely is not far behind with 36. This has resulted in 63 receptions for 657 yards and five touchdowns between the two pass-catchers.

Stopping the run

Going up against an offense that had been unable to establish the run game over the first month of the season, the Giants struggled to slow down the Saints' ground game last week. New Orleans finished the game with 38 rush attempts for 175 yards (4.6 avg.), with four different players gaining 32 or more rushing yards. Kendre Miller led the group with 20 carries for 70 yards (3.5 avg.), while Alvin Kamara, CJ Donaldson and Tyler Shough all finished with averages of 4.9 yards per carry or higher (Donaldson and Shough were both over 6.0 yards per carry).

Over the first four weeks, the Giants held three of their four opponents to 123 rushing yards or less, with the lone exception being the Week 2 loss to the Rams (163 rushing yards). But during the Week 5 tie to the Commanders, the Giants allowed a season-high 202 yards on the ground, including 103 yards and two touchdowns to quarterback Jayden Daniels. Despite these recent struggles, the Giants are faced with a good opportunity to get the run defense back on track this week.

The Texans enter this matchup ranking 25th in rushing yards and 29th in rushing yards per attempt on the season. The Texans' lead back, David Montgomery, may not be able to suit up for this game after suffering a groin injury in Week 5 that sidelined him for Houston's outing in London last week. Jawhar Jordan was then elevated from the practice squad to take Montgomery's place and finished with 43 yards and a touchdown on only six carries. However, Jordan suffered an injury against the Jaguars and has since been placed on practice squad IR.

This leaves Woody Marks as the Texans' only running back currently on the roster that has gotten a touch this season. Marks has recorded 58 rush attempts for 205 yards (3.5 avg.) and two touchdowns while adding 13 receptions for 79 yards this year.

Scouting the rest of the Texans

After losing their first four games of the season, the Texans have won back-to-back games to improve to 2-4. Despite the team's early struggles, one thing that has been consistent all season has been the play of quarterback C.J. Stroud. The fourth-year quarterback has completed over 70 percent of his passes in both of Houston's wins, bringing his completion percentage on the season up to 65.3 percent. He has also thrown for 1,714 yards, nine touchdowns and just one interception for a passer rating of 100.9. If he keeps up this pace for the rest of the campaign, Stroud would set new career-highs in every passing category.

Stroud's top option in the passing game is wide receiver Nico Collins, who comes into this game with 323 yards and three touchdowns on just 22 receptions. Collins has an impressive 14.7 yards per reception, which isn't even the highest mark on the team. After a breakout performance in London last week, wide receiver Jaylin Noel leads in that department with 19.6 yards per reception. Noel caught four passes for 107 yards and a touchdown against the Jaguars, giving him 17 receptions for 334 yards and two scores on the season.

Despite some strong performances from the offense this season, including three of six games with 30 or more points, the strength of the Texans lies in its defense. Heading into Week 7, defensive end Will Anderson finds himself in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation as he leads the NFL with 7.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss to go with his 15 quarterback hits. On the opposite end of the line, Danielle Hunter has recorded three sacks and six quarterback hits, as the pair combine to form one of the league's most potent edge rushing duos.

As if their pass rush wasn't enough, the Texans also boast one of the NFL's best secondaries. Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. has been named first-team All-Pro in back-to-back seasons, and he is joined on the perimeter by Kamari Lassiter, who has endured some ups and downs this season but finds himself tied for the team lead with five passes defensed. Safety Jalen Pitre is right there with Lassiter with five pass breakups, but the talented young safety suffered a shoulder injury in Week 5, putting his status for Sunday in doubt. Calen Bullock and Reed Blankenship, both of whom have experienced success in the NFL, are the other safeties on the Texans' roster. Blankenship (concussion/hand) was sidelined for the first practice of the week.

Head coach Demeco Ryans took over the defensive play-calling prior to their Week 5 matchup. Since then, the Texans have won both of their games. Going up against a high-powered Jaguars offense last week, the Texans blitzed on 39.5 percent of dropbacks, their highest rate in a game this season. Houston also used man coverage on a season-high 34.9 percent of coverage snaps, which led to a lot of success for Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

"They really do a great job of playing ahead of plays, and staying on top of plays," Harbaugh said about the Houston defense. "They're in the right spot. They're playing aggressively. They play downhill on plays. They don't change the scheme up too much, although they're blitzing a little more the last two weeks since DeMeco has taken over the play calling. A little more aggressively, but they play aggressively. They play fundamental football. They're very physical...

"They were the number one defense in the league last year. Not quite there statistically this year, but we can see that they're pretty confident in what they're doing, so we'll have to be at our best."

View rare photos of the all-time history between the New York Giants and Houston Texans.

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