The New York Giants entered Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans with a clear sense inside the building of what was at stake. A victory would keep them firmly in the NFC East race and give them control of their season heading into the bye week.

They responded with a 27-21 overtime win that improved their record to 4-2-1 and sent them into the break in first place.

J.J. McCarthy, making his first start since the late-September trade from Minnesota, viewed the result through that longer lens.

“The message was, this is just the beginning,” McCarthy told reporters. “At the end of the day, we’re a football team that wants to win games and a lot of games. We have aspirations for ourselves and we got to hold ourselves accountable. This feels great, but we got to go back to the film room, look at the tape, and find ways to get better. Really reach the utmost potential of this group. I wouldn’t want to do it with any other team.”

He pointed to the complementary football on display and the opportunities still available to improve.

“There’s obviously throws that I want back, and there’s plays the defense wants back and special teams,” McCarthy said. “That’s exciting because there’s so many other areas and other ways we can get better and keep moving forward. But getting the win going into the bye is an absolutely great feeling. We just got to keep staying humble and hungry.”

John Harbaugh described the group’s response as the product of stacked experiences rather than a single moment. From Jaxson Dart’s season-ending injury through Tremaine Edmunds’ situation last week, the team has continued to work and fight without blinking.

“Maybe it started with Jaxson Dart, then it went to the next, the next, the next, to Tremaine Edmunds this week,” Harbaugh said. “I don’t know, I just think it’s an ongoing type of a thing. That’s how you build. It’s shared experiences. It’s fighting through all these things together that draws people close together, and that’s how a team is built.”

The win itself registers as both a reward and a requirement for more.

“It’s a massive energy shot in the arm. It’s a reward,” Harbaugh said. “Now, you’ve got to make something of it. It doesn’t mean anything if you don’t build on it. It means we have an opportunity to get ready for the next two games starting with Philadelphia. The two most important games of the season will be coming up after we come back from the bye, which will set the direction for the rest of the season, really.

"But we’re going to be in this thing until the end now. This was a pivotal game. This was a really high-pressure game for our team. We didn’t talk about that, but they all knew how important this game was, and they responded accordingly.”

The Giants will use the bye to review the tape and prepare for the stretch that will determine how far this opportunity carries.