The New York Giants delivered a big overtime win against the Houston Texans, a 27-21 thriller in which the running game, challenged this week by head coach John Harbaugh, answered the call against a Texans defense that came in with the league’s third-best run defense (83.0 yards per game).

Harbaugh challenged the running backs to step up and take the bull by the horns. They produced 188 yards on 34 carries (5.5 average), with 180 of those yards on 28 carries (6.43 yards per carry) by Cam Skattebo, Tyrone Tracy Jr., and Devin Singletary.

Skattebo, who finished with a career-best 124 yards on 17 carries, and Singletary had the Giants’ two longest rushing plays from scrimmage this season in overtime on the game-winning drive. Skattebo went for 42 yards and Singletary for the 30-yard game-winner.

All four of the Giants’ touchdowns this week came on the ground, one each by Skattebo, Singletary, Tracy, and quarterback Jameis Winston on a tush push.

Here are a few other quick takeaways from the win.

J.J. More Than Okay

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy, in his debut as Big Blue’s starting quarterback, had a fine afternoon, finishing 20 of 28 for 252 yards with no interceptions or touchdowns thrown (99.1 rating).

What especially stood out was McCarthy’s solid deep-ball play, completing two of his four attempts of 20-plus air yards for 69 air yards total. His two longest passes of the day went to rookie receiver Malachi Fields for 47 yards and receiver Malik Nabers for 42 yards.

Banks On It

Cornerback Deonte Banks’s bounce-back season continued this week as he allowed just three of six pass targets to be completed for 10 yards, only one of them after the catch.

Banks held his own against top Texans receiver Nico Collins, limiting him to one catch on four targets for four yards, one after the catch. The coaches wisely had Banks playing mostly man coverage, which is his strength, and he turned in one of his best performances of the season.

As Banks’s confidence grows each week, that can only help when the Giants return from the bye to face what should be a tougher slate of opposing receivers.

Malik Hits the Century Mark

The media forgot to ask receiver Malik Nabers last week how much more he feels he has to go before he’s 100%. But if he’s not there by now after the devastating knee injury he suffered last year, then the sky truly is the limit for him this season.

Nabers recorded his fifth straight 100-yard game this season, this time catching seven of nine targets for 111 yards. He is tied with Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba for the most 100-yard receiving games this season.

Grades

Offense: A+

This week’s Giants offense had it all, including the explosive plays it had been missing in both the passing and running games.

The offense also helped stifle league sack leader Will Anderson Jr., who was held without a sack, and credit should go to right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, who pushed through a painful calf injury.

And how about the discipline? The Giants had only two penalties: a rather iffy unnecessary roughness flag against Skattebo and a deliberate delay of game by the punt team to give Jordan Stout more room to work with. Oh, and did anyone catch how Skattebo broke three tackles on his touchdown run?

Defense: A

Defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson challenged his defense after last week’s lackluster showing in the loss to the Saints, and it responded. New York held the Texans to 84 yards on the ground and just 153 passing yards.

The defense also sacked Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud and covered Collins like a blanket. Tackling was better than last week, as more players ran to the ball and heeded their coach’s words to wrap up ball carriers rather than grab at them.

Kudos to Micah McFadden, who stepped in for Tremaine Edmunds and finished with a team-leading 10 tackles (all solo), two tackles for loss, and a quarterback hit.

Special Teams: C

Do the Giants have a kicking problem to worry about moving forward? After starting the season 9-of-9, Dominic Zvada has made four of his last nine field goal attempts. He missed two indoors this week, which thankfully didn’t hurt his team.

But it said a lot that in the third quarter, with the ball on the Texans’ 37-yard line, the Giants took a five-yard delay-of-game penalty and punted rather than try another field goal.

The punt coverage unit was shaky once again, allowing the Texans an average of 12.5 yards per return, with Tank Dell and Jaylin Noel having longs of 14 and 11 yards, respectively. If there’s a bright spot, it’s that the unit was better than last week.

Coaching: A+

The play calling was strong, but kudos to the coaching staff for challenging the players and to the players for answering. This was a classic example of how coaching matters, and it’s why one should never count out a team led by John Harbaugh.

From a tactical perspective, good job by offensive coordinator Matt Nagy in getting Malachi Fields more involved downfield. And what about the Giants’ version of the tush push, which faked everyone out on the last one they ran before Skattebo’s big run?

On defense, Wilson brought the heat against Stroud, who was blitzed on 44.8% of his dropbacks and faced pressure on 55.2% overall.