(SportsRadio 610) - After their 29-17 Thursday night loss to the Eagles, the Texans (1-6-1) are coming off their second-longest break of the season before they travel to MetLife Stadium to play the Giants (6-2).
The Giants are coming off their bye week after losing to Seattle. Here are the weekly observations on the Texans as they prepare for their ninth game.
BARKLEY SHOULD FEAST ON RUN DEFENSE
The Texans remain the NFL’s worst team against the run. They surrender 180.6 yards a game rushing. When they play the Giants, Lovie Smith’s defense will try to contain running back Saquon Barkley, the league’s third-leading rusher with 779 yards. He averages 4.8 yards a carry and has scored five touchdowns.
The Giants are fifth in rushing with 161.5 yards a game. They’ve struggled to throw the ball with quarterback Daniel Jones passing for only 1,399 yards and six touchdowns. He’s done a good job of protecting the ball with only two interceptions. Jones is an effective runner. He has 363 yards rushing, including a 100-yard game, and averages 5.7 yards a carry. He has three touchdowns rushing.
The Giants’ game plan won’t be a secret. The Texans will get a steady diet of Barkley, who’s in the last year of his contract, and when they try to attack him between the tackles, expect Jones to take off on the outside. No matter how fans look at it, Sunday is going to be another difficult challenge for the defensive players to avoid getting pulverized again.
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PIERCE COULD PROSPER AGAINST GIANTS
Speaking of running backs, Dameon Pierce is sixth in the league with 678 yards rushing, the most by a rookie. That puts him on a pace for 1,441 yards, which would surpass the team’s rookie record of 1,282 by Steve Slaton in 2008.
Pierce could have another productive game against the Giants. They’re 25th against the run, allowing 137.3 yards a game – not Texans bad but still not good.
Pierce could continue his impressive performance. He’s first in the NFL in broken tackles (26), second in elusive runs (131.1), third in yards after contact (403), fourth in first down percentage (27.0) and fifth in attempts (148) and yards per game (84.5).
It’s going to be interesting to watch Pierce and how he runs against the Giants compared to how Saquon Barkley runs against the Texans. If Pierce has a 100-yard game, he’ll get a lot of attention from the New York/New Jersey media.
COOKS RETURNS TO STARTING LINEUP
Considering how he quit on his team when he didn’t get traded to Dallas and didn’t play in the Thursday loss to the Eagles, receiver Brandin Cooks needs to have a big game against the Giants to show he’s all-in on the rest of the season. Then Cooks can hope he’s traded before the draft.
Finding a big-play receiver is going to be one of several priorities in the draft. Cooks isn’t producing the way he did in his first two seasons with the Texans. He still leads the team with 32 catches but has only one touchdown and a 11.1-yard average per catch. And that was before he started pouting and using social media to express his displeasure.
Davis Mills and the offense need for Cooks to produce in a big way against the Giants. Fans, not to mention teammates and coaches, want to see if his heart is still in it. They can say the right things publicly, but nobody will know for sure until Cooks actually does it with the frequency of his first two seasons with the Texans.
Second and third behind Cooks in receptions are running backs Rex Burkhead (25) and Dameon Pierce (20). The offense needs to get back Nico Collins desperately. Before he suffered a groin injury, Collins averaged 16.9 yards on 18 receptions. He also could return against the Giants.
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MILLS COMPETES AGAINST JONES
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is the NFL’s 18th-rated passer with an 88.0 rating. Davis Mills is 27th at 81.2. Jones is more mobile, evidenced by his 363 yards rushing, 5.7 average and three touchdowns.
Mills has thrown for 1,656 yards and 10 touchdowns with eight interceptions. He’s completed 62.8 percent and averages only 6.42 yards per attempt. Jones has completed 65 percent and has 1,399 yards. He has six touchdowns, two interceptions and averages 6.36 per attempt.
Mills and Jones have flashed at times this season, but neither has been consistent. The biggest difference is Jones has helped the Giants win six games. Mills has helped the Texans win one. The Texans are desperate to play well from start to finish in the fourth quarter, which has been quicksand for the Texans.
They’ve been in all but one game in the fourth quarter in which they’ve been outscored 69-24. They start slow and finish slow. Opponents have a 36-17 scoring advantage in the first quarter. That’s a big reason the Texans are the worst team in the league.
YOUTH MUST BE SERVED
In their loss to the Titans two games ago, the Texans started a team-record eight rookies. Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. is showing why he was the third overall pick in the draft.
According to Pro Football Focus, Stingley has been targeted 46 times by opponents and hasn’t allowed a touchdown. That’s the second-most targets against a rookie this season. He also has a 72.4 tackling rate, eighth among rookies.
VETERANS MUST BE SERVED, TOO
Defensive end Jerry Hughes is 34 and enjoying one of his best seasons as a pass rusher. In his first season with the Texans, Hughes is tied for seventh in the NFL with seven sacks. That’s the most sacks he’s recorded in the first eight games of his 13-year career. He has three multi-sack games.
Hughes’ career best is 10 sacks on two occasions. Hughes is on a pace to register 14 sacks. What makes his performance even more impressive is that he’s played without defensive end Jonathan Greenard for the last four games. Greenard led the Texans with eight sacks in 2021 despite missing five games because of injuries.
John McClain can be heard Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday on Sports Radio 610 and Monday and Thursday on Texans Radio. He does three weekly Houtopia Podcasts for SportsRadio610.com. He also can be read four times a week on GallerySports.com.