The New York Giants are fresh off of their bye heading into Week 10 and host the Houston Texans at MetLife Stadium.
Houston’s lackluster start to the season doesn’t mean much as the Giants lost a key defensive player this week in Xavier McKinney. Texans rookie running back Dameon Pierce is turning heads, and Lovie Smith is doing his best to turn the Texans around after finally escaping the Deshaun Watson’s very public legal battle.
So, the Giants have a few things to do on Sunday in order to secure the win.
Win the first down battle
Houston ranks among the NFL’s best teams on first down, but lands among the worst on third down conversions. Stopping the Texans on that first-down and making their lives difficult on third-down plays will keep the momentum on the Giants’ side and keep the Texans offense off the field.
Run, run, run
The Texans own the title of the NFL’s worst rushing defense this season, allowing 5.4 yards per carry and 12 rushing touchdowns through eight games.
Saquon Barkley is the league’s third-best running back, averaging nearly 5.0 yards per carry. He’s less than 100 yards behind Derrick Henry, the NFL’s leading rusher.
The Giants need to exploit this weakness on Sunday and run Barkley often.
Be wary of the blitz
Daniel Jones has been blitzed 67 times this season, hurried 28, pressured 80 times, hit 27 times and has been sacked 25 times. His QBR on the season is 97, but ranges from 57.9 to 115.9.
Houston doesn’t blitz very often, but they are wildly successful when they do. Quarterbacks have an average 57.97 QBR when facing the Texans blitz.
The offensive line must be aware of this and pay close attention to how the Texans defense is lining up. Jones has to be aware of pressure coming at him and be ready to scramble or throw the ball when it comes. If the blitz can be picked up or avoided, it will go a long way toward a win.
Don't let Texans wide receivers get behind the defense
The loss of Xavier McKinney on defense is huge for the Giants. His main objective, and one of his best abilities on the field, is protecting the deep middle of the field.
Without McKinney on the field, rookie Dane Belton is likely to pick up his slack, but there’s no way to know how well he’s going to do. He’s had a good rookie season so far, but these are big shoes to fill.
The Giants must stop the Texans wideouts, but if they get behind the defense, it’s going to be difficult to slow them down.
Avoid communication errors on defense
Communication on defense began with Xavier McKinney. With him not playing, Giants safety Julian Love will relay the signals.
Communication issues have already caused the Giants to give up two touchdowns this season due to having only 10 players on the field, and with McKinney out, these issues are likely to increase. Avoiding these issues will be paramount to victory.
Contain Dameon Pierce
Texans rookie Dameon Pierce leads the team in offensive yards with 678 on the ground and 98 through the air, adding four total touchdowns. He’s responsible for a large part of the Texans offense despite it being his first year in the NFL.
Shutting him down is unlikely, so the Giants must contain him in order to stop the Texans offense.
