Texans 21-27 Giants: McCarthy's first start ends with Singletary's overtime dagger
J.J. McCarthy managed his first start of the season cleanly, Cam Skattebo bulldozed Houston for 124 yards, and Devin Singletary's 30-yard overtime run left the Texans winless at home.
The New York Giants changed quarterbacks and left Houston with the kind of road win that reshapes a division race. Devin Singletary's 30-yard touchdown run in overtime beat the Texans 27-21 on Sunday, per ESPN's recap, lifting New York to 4-2-1 and the top of the NFC East. Houston fell to 2-5 — and, as the Houston Chronicle put it, stayed winless at home at 0-4.
McCarthy steady, Skattebo relentless
Handed the job after Jameis Winston was benched, J.J. McCarthy went 20-of-28 for 252 yards in his first start of the season and let the ground game do the punishing. Cam Skattebo hammered out 124 yards on 17 carries, and his 16-yard touchdown gave the Giants the lead in the fourth quarter — a bounce-back from a costly fumble two weeks earlier. New York still made it harder than it needed to be: Dominic Zvada missed two field goals, including a 44-yarder that sailed wide right.
Houston's escape, then nothing left
C.J. Stroud threw two touchdowns but managed a season-low 153 passing yards. Marvin Harrison Jr., in just his second game since Houston acquired him from Arizona according to ESPN, caught a second-quarter score, and Xavier Hutchinson's 3-yard touchdown with under a minute left tied it 21-21 to force overtime. There was a feel-good subplot, too: Tank Dell returned from the knee injury that had kept him out nearly two years and caught a 43-yard pass. But in the extra period Houston went three-and-out, Skattebo ripped off a 42-yard run on the Giants' first possession, and Singletary finished it from 30.
What it means
Both teams head into their byes, with the Giants at Philadelphia and the Texans at the Chargers on Nov. 8. New York goes into the break with a settled backfield, an unbeaten start for its new quarterback and first place in the NFC East; Houston goes into it with an offense that has stopped traveling even at home.