Just like that, the vibes are bad around the Houston Texans again.
Cam Skattebo came back to life with 17 carries for 124 yards after not having a carry last Sunday, as the difference in the New York Giants' 27-20 overtime win against the Texans
. Former Texans starting running back Devin Singletary scored the game-winning 30-yard touchdown run after the defense forced a three-and-out to begin overtime.Skattebo, who didn't record a stat last week after two costly fumbles earlier in the month, scored on a 16-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. That broke the 14-14 tie and put pressure on Houston's offense to respond. In overtime, his 42-yard scamper to set up Singletary’s game-winning run a play later.
With former 2024 first-round pick J.J.
McCarthy making his first start of the regular season, the Giants made life easy for the offense. He was 20 of 28 for 252 yards and pushed the ball into the red zone for two rushing scoring drives, including one behind the legs of Jameis Winston.
C.J. Stroud, who guided the Texans downfield for a 3-yard touchdown pass to Xaiver Hutchinson with less than a minute left, had two touchdown passes but finished with a season-low 153 passing yards. The run game once again was limited, as Houston rushed for 84 yards on 26 carries between Dare Ogunbowale and Woody Marks.
Perhaps the big win of the afternoon came with the return of wide receiver Tank Dell. After suffering a knee injury in December 2024, Dell spent nearly two years recovering from the injury. The former third-round pick finished with one reception for 43 yards and returned a punt for 14 yards.
Below is a breakdown of the playing time from Sunday's loss, including some separation at wide receiver, running back, tight end and a deeper rotation at linebacker.
Offense
With Dell's return, he was always expected to be limited in snaps. On Sunday, he only recorded 14 plays, which correlated to roughly 23% of snaps. Jaylin Noel, who has seen an uptick in plays, recorded only 19 snaps for 31% of plays, but he also left in the fourth quarter with a toe injury.
New wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was expected to play more after his performance in London against the Jaguars. He actually played less, recording just 13 snaps in his home debut. And the only two plays he made an impact on were the touchdown throw before the end of the second quarter and the dropped pass in the third quarter that could have gone for a gain of 30.
As for the offensive line, no changes whatsoever, though Braden Smith was called upon as an extra lineman 24 times, which rounds out to over 40%. Among the running backs, Marks, who led the team in rushing, finished with 54 snaps, while Ogunbowale played in just seven snaps, the second-fewest of any offensive player.
Case in point, Houston needs another running back to take the toll off Marks.
Defense
There's really not much to report on defense. Rookie Kayden McDonald saw an uptick in snaps following his return last week in London. On Sunday, he played in 42% of snaps, which was nearly double that from the win over the Jaguars.
Regardless of health, Jadeveon Clowney is still playing more than just depth pieces. He finished with 24 snaps, which came out to be roughly 38% of the snaps. As for the rest of the crew, expect M.J. Stewart to see the bulk of the snaps at safety with Reed Blankenship out. He played on 94% of snaps and recorded a team-tying 11 tackles. Tremon Smith and rookie Kamari Ramsey should rotate in on the nickel position, which each played over eight snaps.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans Week 7 snap counts: How much did WR Tank Dell play in his debut vs. Giants?
