The New York Giants have plenty of momentum coming out of their bye week.
Even though the Giants lost at the Seattle Seahawks to enter their off week, their 6-2 record and a home date against the 1-6-1 Houston Texans is enough fortune to ignite another winning streak that should bode well for their playoff hopes.
While the Texans are struggling and en route to score the No. 1 overall seed in the 2023 NFL draft, Giants coach Brian Daboll is not taking the last place club from the AFC South lightly.
“I think coach Lovie Smith does a great job,” Daboll told reporters Nov. 8. “I thought [general manager] Nick Caserio has done a great job of selecting some young players on their roster that are good football players.”
The three players that caught Daboll’s attention were safety Jalen Pitre, cornerback Derek Stingley, and running back Dameon Pierce, who is coming off a 100-yard rushing performance against the Philadelphia Eagles.
There are also some friendly faces along the Texans’ defensive line from Daboll’s time with the Buffalo Bills as their offensive coordinator from 2018-21.
“Jerry Hughes is a guy that I’m familiar with at Buffalo, and he’s playing at a high, high level right now, which I’m not surprised with,” said Daboll.
Hughes has 7.0 sacks through eight games and is not far away from notching the first double-digit sack season by a Houston defender since 2018 when J.J. Watt had 16.0.
“They’ve got a lot of players,” Daboll said. “They’re competitive, and we’re going to need to be at our best.”
The Texans square off against the Giants Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time from MetLife Stadium. Houston has not beaten the Giants since 2002.
