The New York Giants vs Texans JJ McCarthy start headlines Sunday’s matchup at Reliant Stadium, where McCarthy will make his first appearance under center for New York against a Houston team looking to build on back-to-back wins. The game kicks off at 1 p.m. ET on Fox and serves as the Giants‘ final outing before their Week 8 bye. New York enters at 3-2-1 while Houston sits at 2-4, with both teams trying to shake uneven starts to the season.
Giants Vs Texans Game Information
- Date: Sunday, Oct. 25
- Time: 1 p.m. ET
- Venue: Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX
- TV: Fox
- Series: New York leads the all-time series 5-1
Giants Outlook
New York’s biggest story this week is at quarterback. J.J. McCarthy will make his first start for the Giants after Jameis Winston was benched following the Giants’ 34-27 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 6. McCarthy entered that game in relief and led New York to 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, completing 11 of 17 passes for 243 yards, a touchdown and an interception while adding a 28-yard run.
Winston had thrown for 957 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions on 57.0% completion before the switch. The move comes with Jaxson Dart already out for the season after a knee injury suffered in a Monday night loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 21. McCarthy, a 2024 first-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings who won a national championship at Michigan, started 10 games for Minnesota last year, throwing 11 touchdowns against 12 interceptions before Kyler Murray’s arrival pushed him out of the starting job.
“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,” McCarthy said, according to the Giants’ team website.
New York’s ground game has produced 104.8 yards per game, but Cam Skattebo’s workload has shrunk. He had zero carries and played just six snaps against New Orleans and is now one of only three running backs on the roster after the Giants released Najee Harris this week. Malik Nabers has been the offense’s most consistent weapon, topping 100 receiving yards in three straight games after opening the season with 96 combined yards across his first three contests back from a torn ACL. Rookie linebacker Arvell Reese, the fifth pick in April’s draft, ranks fourth among all rookies with 47 tackles.
Several Giants are listed as questionable, including offensive tackles Jermaine Eluemunor (calf) and Andrew Thomas (groin), cornerback Colton Hood (concussion), safety Jevon Holland (concussion) and tight end Theo Johnson (neck). Their official game status will be determined before kickoff.
Texans Outlook
Houston has won two straight, including a 34-31 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars last week decided by Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 49-yard field goal as time expired. C.J. Stroud has thrown for 1,714 yards, nine touchdowns and just one interception, and the Texans’ defense has tightened up since head coach DeMeco Ryans took over play-calling duties two weeks ago.
“They really do a great job of playing ahead of plays, and staying on top of plays,” according to comments relayed through the Giants’ team website. “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.”
Houston’s receiving corps got a boost with the trade for Marvin Harrison, the fourth overall pick in the 2024 draft, who caught three passes for 34 yards in his debut. Ryans is expected to lean on Harrison more this week, joining Nico Collins and Jaylin Noel, who posted a career-high 107 yards last week, in the receiving group. Tank Dell is also set to return to game action for the first time in nearly two years, according to the team’s official site. Tight end Foster Moreau turned in his first career multi-touchdown game last week, hauling in both of his catches for scores.
Houston’s offense ranks ahead of New York in total yards (370.5 to 346.5) and points per game (24.0 to 22.7), though the Giants hold the edge in third-down efficiency and red zone scoring. The Texans’ defense has been stout in the takeaway column relative to giveaways, posting a plus-3 turnover differential compared to New York’s minus-2.
Running back David Montgomery is doubtful with a groin injury. Several other Texans carry questionable tags, including safety Reed Blankenship (concussion), tight ends Brevin Jordan (foot) and Dalton Schultz (quadriceps), and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (knee).
Key Matchup
Houston’s pass rush against McCarthy stands out as the matchup to watch. The Texans have racked up 18 sacks this season, led by Will Anderson Jr.’s league-leading 7½. Danielle Hunter ranks third in the NFL with 117½ sacks since 2015 and has history against this franchise, recording seven tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble against the Giants in 2022 while with Minnesota.
The Texans failed to record a sack against Jacksonville last week and will look to reset that number against a Giants offensive line that already lists two tackles as questionable. How Eluemunor and Thomas hold up, if active, could determine how much time McCarthy gets to operate in his first start under center for New York.
Players To Watch
J.J. McCarthy, QB, Giants
McCarthy makes his first start for New York after a relief appearance against New Orleans that produced 243 yards and a touchdown on 11-of-17 passing. Across 12 career appearances between Minnesota and New York, he has completed 57.2% of his passes for 1,875 yards, 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. His last start before this stretch came in Week 18 of last season, a win over the Green Bay Packers.
C.J. Stroud, QB, Texans
Stroud has completed 65.0% of his passes for 1,714 yards and nine touchdowns against a single interception this season, posting a 100.5 quarterback rating. A member of the Giants’ coaching staff called Houston’s offense “a budding offense” that is “just waiting to explode,” according to comments on the Giants’ team website.
Malik Nabers, WR, Giants
Nabers has topped 100 receiving yards in three consecutive games since returning from a torn ACL, giving New York a reliable target regardless of who starts at quarterback.
What To Watch
New York sits atop the NFC East at 3-2-1 and a .583 winning percentage, while Houston is tied for second in the AFC South at 2-4. The Giants are looking to carry momentum into their bye week, while the Texans are chasing a third straight win after dropping their first three games of the season. Houston has won five straight meetings in the series since New York’s 24-16 victory at MetLife Stadium on Jan. 13, 2022, with Houston’s only series win coming in the franchise’s inaugural season in 2002.
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