Texans report card: Grading Houston’s overtime loss to the New York Giants

The Houston Texans have lost again. They were defeated 27-21 in overtime by the New York Giants on Sunday and dropped to 2-5 on the season and 0-4 at home. 

Here were the grades from the performance:

Quarterback: C+

C.J. Stroud played turnover-free football, but it felt like everything was difficult. There was a noticeable lack of balls thrown downfield in the first half. In the second half, he struggled to capitalize, too. Stroud did have two touchdown passes, including a game-tying score to Xavier Hutchinson with 52 seconds remaining. 

But the Texans had a three-and-out on the first possession of overtime, allowing the Giants to win. Stroud finished 17-of-28 for 153 yards and two touchdowns. 

Running back: C+

Woody Marks was one of two running backs active Sunday, so he got the majority of the carries. He had a couple of explosive runs, but one was called back for a holding penalty late in the fourth quarter. Marks finished with 66 yards on 19 carries. 

Wide receivers/tight ends: D

The Texans’ receivers and tight ends didn’t quite show up. The Giants’ secondary put extra attention on Nico Collins, who was held to just two catches for 6 yards, which was the fewest he’s had since he was held without a catch against the Colts during his rookie season in 2021. Jaylin Noel suffered a toe injury and did not return and that hurt the Texans, too. There were also a couple of drops.

Offensive line: C

The offensive line protected Stroud for the most part and gave him time in the pocket up until overtime. They also struggled some to convert first downs on third-and-short, when all they needed were a few inches. It’s been a problem for Houston for the last two seasons, and was the difference in them being able to extend drives. 

Defensive line: C

The Giants have one of the better offensive lines in the league and they showed why. The Texans’ defensive line had just one sack – a Danielle Hunter takedown. Will Anderson Jr. was shut out for the second consecutive game.

The Texans used the blitz to get after Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy twice more. 

Linebackers: C+

Henry To’oTo’o returned and played well, and Azeez Al-Shaair was OK. But they both missed tackles on Cam Skattebo’s 16-yard TD run that gave the Giants a 21-14 lead in the fourth quarter. Up until that point, they had done a good job of bringing him down. 

Al-Shaair also missed another tackle on the final defensive drive of the fourth quarter. 

Secondary: D+

The Texans struggled to contain the Giants’ wide receivers. Malik Nabers had seven catches for 111 yards. Maliki Fields had four catches for 83 yards. The secondary also missed several tackles and gave up too many explosive plays. 

Special teams: A

Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn kept the Texans in this game. Fairbairn had two clutch field goals – one for 58 yards and the other 57. Punter Kai Kroeger wasn’t bad, averaging 44.2 yards per punt. But the biggest play was arguably the one by Brevin Jordan, who helped limit the Giants’ final return to under 20 yards. 

Coaching: C

This wasn’t a game the Texans should have lost. They were facing a quarterback who was traded midseason and making his first start. And then there were the big chunk runs in overtime. Had the Texans just kept the Giants out of the end zone, perhaps they had a chance as bad as New York’s kicker was Sunday. 

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This article originally published at Texans report card: Grading Houston’s overtime loss to the New York Giants.