Giants vs. Texans: 5 things to know about Week 10
The New York Giants (6-2) return from their by week to host the Houston Texans (1-6-1) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey this Sunday afternoon.
Here are five things to know about the Week 10 game.
The series
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This will be the sixth regular season meeting between the Giants and Texans since Houston joined the NFL as an expansion team in 2002.
The Giants lead the series, 4-1. They are 2-0 at home at 2-1 on the road.
The last meeting was in 2018 in Houston with the Giants winning, 27-22, with Eli Manning and Deshaun Watson combining for 682 yards passing.
Two teams headed in different directions
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The Giants, at 6-2, are currently the sixth seed in the NFC playoff picture. Should the season end today, the Philadelphia Eagles would be the top seed followed by Minnesota, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Dallas, the Giants and San Francisco.
The Giants would face Seattle in the wildcard round.
Houston, at 1-6-1, has the worst win-loss record in the NFL and is in position to make the first overall selection in next year’s NFL draft. They also hold the 13th overall pick as part of the Deshaun Watson trade with Cleveland.
How the Texans have fared this year
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Houston opened the season with a 20-20 tie against the Indianapolis Colts. Their one win came in Week 5 at home versus the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Texans’ six losses have come against Denver, Chicago, the L.A. Chargers, Tennessee, Las Vegas and Philadelphia.
The Texans have been underdogs in all eight their games this season and are 6.5-point dogs in this game. The are 4-4 against the spread this year.
Who are these Texans?
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Houston is in their first season under head coach Lovie Smith, who also runs the defense as the coordinator, the position he was elevated from.
Pep Hamilton. a long-time NFL and college assistant for over two decades, is the offensive coordinator.
Davis Mills is the quarterback, wide receiver Brandin Cooks leads the team in receptions and defensive back Jonathan Owens is the tackles leader.
The Texans had two first-round draft picks this year: LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. (No. 3 overall) and offensive lineman Kenyon Green out of Texas A&M (15th). Both are starters as is second-round selection Jalen Pitre, a safety out of Baylor.
Perhaps the rookie that has made the biggest impact is running back Dameon Pierce, a fourth round pick out of Florida. He has 678 rushing yards, good enough for sixth in the NFL.
Some Giants numbers
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Running back Saquon Barkley leads the NFC in rushing with 779 yards and his 968 total yards from scrimmage are third in the NFL.
The Giants are fourth in the NFL in time of possession, holding the ball an average of 31:54 per game.
The Giants’ defense has nine fumble recoveries this season, which ranks second in the NFL this season. They have accrued a total of 10 turnovers this season and have a net turnover differential of plus two.
Left tackle Andrew Thomas has played 100 percent of the Giants’ offensive snaps this season (538), the only player on either side of the ball to do so for the Giants this year.
