Retour
The New York Giants have made a change at quarterback, but that doesn’t mean the competition gets any easier. The team will have to face an aggressive Houston Texans defense that hasn’t played its best football yet.
The Texans are big, fast, athletic and smart, and they are led by a head coach who was an All-Pro linebacker himself.
This will be the toughest defensive challenge the offense has faced since its Week 2 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. Let’s take a look at the Houston defense.
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans’ 4-3 over-under scheme is a variation of the Wade Phillips 3-4 defense he played in as a Texan. It relies on a wide-9 speed rusher with single-gap principles on the interior.
Because so many teams use three-wide-receiver sets, Houston plays a nickel look (4-2-5) about 70% of the time.
The Texans are deep at every level of the defense, which means they can comfortably rotate players because they trust their second- and third-level defenders.
The Texans are stingy against the run. They rank third in the NFL in rush defense, allowing 80.3 yards per game and just 3.43 yards per carry to opposing running backs.
They have allowed more than 110 rushing yards only twice this season, in Week 1 against the Bills and in Week 6 against the Jaguars.
Their depth and speed, especially at the first and second levels, let them combat opposing rushing attacks with sometimes only six players in the box. That is a luxury many teams do not have.
Azeez Al-Shaair is Houston’s interior enforcer at middle linebacker. He diagnoses run plays quickly and can stuff rushing lanes before backs get a head of steam. He does a great job of slipping second-level blocks and setting up run fits to force running backs into the arms of his teammates. He can thump in the middle and chase from sideline to sideline.
Will Anderson Jr. is one of the league’s best defensive ends at getting tackles for loss. He plays the run with elite precision, setting the edge.
He not only forces running backs to change direction but sometimes gets them to stop their feet altogether, which allows him and his teammates to rally for tackles.
The Texans have a ton of talent in their secondary, which makes their 23rd-place ranking in pass defense so baffling. They haven’t been as sticky in coverage in 2026 as in past years, which has contributed to the ranking.
They are allowing 234 passing yards per game, a far cry from their league-leading totals in 2025. Don’t assume their pass coverage is weak; it’s just not at the level they became accustomed to in previous seasons.
They are still one of the best defenses at getting to the quarterback, as shown by their tie for second in the NFL in sacks and their top-five pressure rate. Anderson leads the pass rush.
He followed a 12-sack, 93-pressure All-Pro season in 2025 with 7.5 sacks through the first six weeks of 2026.
Add Danielle Hunter, a veteran who consistently wins in one-on-one matchups, along with other veterans who get after the passer, such as Foley Fatukasi and Mario Edwards Jr., and it is no wonder the Texans are so scary when you have to pass the ball.
Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. leads an impressive group of defensive backs at the third level. A true lockdown boundary cornerback, he is able to shut down opposing elite wide receivers by holding them to fewer targets and inefficient days.
One of the abilities that makes him so great is his willingness and ability to travel with the receiver all over the field, not only on the left or right side but also into the slot.
Couple him with high-IQ players like Kamari Lassiter and Calen Bullock, and you can see why this secondary is so dangerous against the pass.
Yes, J.J. McCarthy has been inserted into the starting lineup to lead the offense. But if Giants fans think the key to success is going to be using him as a rusher in this game, they might see Jameis Winston again much sooner than they would like.
The Giants need to attack the Texans at the intermediate level through the passing game. They need to use quick passes to neutralize the speed rush, then be strategic about opportunities to take shots downfield.
This is a very difficult matchup for a quarterback like McCarthy, who has struggled under pressure in his limited playing time as an NFL quarterback. But if the offense finds a rhythm, he can succeed by getting the ball out of his hands quickly and avoiding turnovers.
Retour
Top
| Politique de confidentialité Conditions d'utilisation Contact |
Actualiser
|
All the best breaking news stories from Apex Football Lite. Optimised for feature phones and low end Android devices, Apex Football Lite helps users with legacy devices and poor network connectivity access the latest football news and live scores. Particularly relevant for breaking football news in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.