Good morning, New York Giants fans! Here are the stories you need to know as the Giants get set to battle the Houston Texans this Sunday.
Struggles in all three phases leave Giants feeling heat heading into matchup at Texans | The Athletic
The New York Giants’ coaching staff turned up the heat this week. It started after Sunday’s 34-27 loss to the New Orleans Saints when coach John Harbaugh challenged someone from a disappointing backfield to step up and seize the top running back job.
Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy noted that the coaches need to look inward as the team searches for solutions to their
weaknesses. One area that falls under the coaches’ purview is penalties. The Giants have been flagged for the 13th-most penalties in the league. They have the most pre-snap offensive penalties, lowlighted by consecutive false starts on running back Tyrone Tracy and left tackle Andrew Thomas to turn a third-and-8 into a third-and-18 in the third quarter against the Saints.
Giants’ Matt Nagy ready to open up playbook for J.J. McCarthy’s first start | New York Post
“Maybe now 20 percent of that 30 that was gone is back,” Nagy said. “For us, what does he do well? You’ve seen some of the packages he’s done, but that can become predictable. We don’t want to be predictable. Now that he’s the starter, it probably benefits us some that he’s just not always coming in to do predictable QB-driven runs.”
“Just the confidence of him being able to, in practice, talk to us about the scheme, where his eyes are going in the pass game, where he’s snapping the ball with a motion or a shift,” Nagy said. “If there was a shoestring with Jameis or he got hurt, he could go in and function. Whereas the first two weeks, I had a highlighted [play] call sheet that, if something happened and he was in, these were the plays. It was probably 50 percent. Last week, it was probably 90 percent. Now this week, it’s going to be 100 percent.”
Harbs Weekly: A chance to take control of the division before the bye week | Giants.com
Q: A lot of times we see quarterback changes made at the bye week, which is coming up. But if something is inevitable, is it best to do it as soon as possible because now you get this week too?
Harbaugh: I just never thought of it that way. I never considered whether the bye week is coming up and that’d be a better time. To be honest with you, it never even crossed my mind. I’m just thinking about what was the best thing for the next game and was he ready. It really wasn’t all that. I mean, it’s good to think about. Now that people have brought it up, I’m like, I didn’t really care about that.
Harbaugh on the release of Najee Harris
Cam Skattebo set to return to Giants RB mix after being‘taught a lesson’ | ESPN.com
“It’s been good, you know. I think I got taught a lesson,” Skattebo said. “I don’t know if that’s from them or from myself, but I kind of had to step back and look at it and figure out why I was doing the things I was doing, what was happening. Came to practice, corrected those things, worked on them. Ready to go back out there and play ball.”
The second-year running back knows he still has to prove it on the field. “I didn’t do anything yet,” Skattebo said. “I took care of the ball during practice, and whatever my role is on Sunday is going to be my role and I’m going to give it everything I’ve got.”
Colts’ Jonathan Taylor to Giants? Why Cam Skattebo knows he shouldn’t rule it out | NJ.com
Giants coach John Harbaugh wants a dominant, single-back running game, as he chases an unlikely NFC East title this season. Really, that also is Harbaugh’s broader vision for his offense in East Rutherford.
So Cam Skattebo — who entered his second year as the Giants’ much-hyped but largely unproven No. 1 back — knows he can’t and shouldn’t rule out Harbaugh trading for the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor (a New Jersey native) prior to the Nov. 10 deadline.
New York Giants’ skill players call for improved run-game execution | USAToday.com
Nabers said the offense must do a better job establishing the run so defenses cannot simply play the pass on every down.
“Yeah, I mean, we’ve got to do a better job on offense of getting the ball — I mean, making sure we want to run the ball well, finding good runs for the running back that just hearing their thoughts on what runs that they like, too,” Nabers told reporters on Thursday. “Trying to do a better job of asking them, asking the O-line of what specific runs that they like, where they feel like we can gain a lot of yards off of to just help the whole offense.”
Interesting stats since the change at center
The 10 best NFL player matchups to watch in Week 7 | PFF
New York Giants WR Malik Nabers vs. Houston Texans CB Derek Stingley Jr. Nabers hasn’t taken long to already look as sharp as ever after tearing his ACL. His 81.7 overall PFF grade is the 10th-best among qualified wideouts, and his 23 first downs secured are tied for sixth. The third-year pro has also produced 2.88-plus yards per route run in three games, including in Week 6 against the Saints.
The 2026 season has not been a lockdown one yet for Stingley. The All-Pro has permitted a 101.8 passer rating into his coverage — the 15th-worst among qualified cornerbacks — allowing 40 or more yards in three of his six outings. On top of that, Stingley’s 16.1 yards per reception given up are the fourth-highest at his position. The Texans have primarily played zone coverage in 2026, which may lend the upper hand to Nabers. His 78.3 PFF receiving grade against such softer looks is the sixth-best among receivers with 12 or more targets in zone. Meanwhile, Stingley ranks as the 26th-graded corner in zone with a 66.1 PFF coverage grade.
From Big Blue View
- Giants-Texans final injury report: Tremaine Edmunds out, Micah McFadden in
- NY Giants have sprung some leaks on special teams the past 2 weeks
- Giants at Texans matchup: J.J. McCarthy vs. talented Houston defense
- Giants at Texans matchup: Houston’s passing offense will test New York defense
- Giants at Houston Texans, Week 7: News, injuries, analysis, more
This week’s opponent
- Five good Texans questions with Big Blue View | Battle Red Blog
- Texans will be without star RB for Giants game | Yahoo! Sports
- Know Your Foe: How the Texans Can Beat John Harbaugh’s NFC East-Leading Giants | HoustonTexans.com
- Inside Marvin Harrison Jr.s’ exit from the Cardinals | ESPN.com
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