The New York Giants spent most of the afternoon in Houston doing just enough to stay alive, then finally did the one thing that had slipped away from them in overtime two weeks earlier: They finished.
Devin Singletary’s 30-yard run ended it, but the sequence belonged as much to Cam Skattebo, whose big carry set the stage and whose afternoon felt like a quiet correction of the fumble that had cost them against Washington. The Giants walked out of Reliant Stadium 27-21 winners, 4-2-1, and with a little more certainty about how they want to close games.
It was not perfectly clean, and it was not especially pretty at times. Houston tied it late and forced the extra period. This time, though, the Giants did not invent a new way to give the point back. They took it.
A bye now looms, with a trip to Philadelphia waiting on the other side.
Whose stock is up and whose is down after the Week 7 win? Let’s take a look.
Stock up: New York Giants
Yes, the stock of the New York Football Giants is up. The team, the franchise, the coaching staff, the players, and the fans. Across the board, things are good in East Rutherford, and the reason for hope is real. For over a decade, we all heard "there's an adult in charge now," and there never was. Now there is. John Harbaugh has completely changed the culture and the entire organization, from top to bottom, is benefiting from it.
Stock down: K Dominic Zvada
Do the Giants have a kicking problem? Again? Harbaugh downplayed it following Sunday's overtime victory, but the reality is, Dominic Zvada once again put the team in a situation they didn't need to be in. He missed two field goals and that led to a lack of confidence and a punt in a situation where they otherwise would have attempted the field goal. That's basically -9 on the scoreboard. Coming out of college, there were concerns about Zvada's consistency, and we're seeing that play out over the past several weeks.
Stock up: Running backs
All three Giants running backs answered the bell on Sunday. After being challenged and, in Cam Skattebo's case, effectively benched, they came out firing against a solid Texans defense. There were some hiccups early on, but they eventually got the ball rolling and then rode all the way to victory. Skattebo, Devin Singletary, and Tyrone Tracy Jr. all scored, combining for 180 yards on 28 carries (6.4 ypc).
Stock down: OL Jon Runyan Jr.
The offensive line drew praise after the game, but they had some ugly moments. Jon Runyan Jr. was at the center of several of those. He whiffed on a few blocks, including one that got Tracy blown up in the backfield for a loss. He also appeared to miss a block on Singletary's game-winning touchdown run (this may have been by design), which, luckily, didn't cost the offense. He was also credited with allowing two pressures and two QB hits.
Stock up: CB Deonte Banks
We could go on and on about many players deserving of flowers, but Deonte Banks deserves to stand alone for his renaissance this season. He has gone from an afterthought bust who had his fifth-year option declined to a legitimate CB1 in the conversation for best man corners in the NFL. Sunday was arguably a career-best performance, limiting Nico Collins to two receptions for six yards. It was the second-lowest output of Collins' career, dating back to midway through his rookie year.
Yes, indeed. The Banks are closed on Sundays.
Stock down: CB Dru Phillips
On the opposite end of that spectrum is Dru Phillips, who was called for a holding penalty and a damaging pass interference on Sunday. It's his second game this season with multiple penalties, giving him five total accepted penalties this season. Comparatively, he had just a single tackle on Sunday, and that was it.
More stock up:
- QB J.J. McCarthy
- QB Jameis Winston
- WR Malik Nabers
- WR Malachi Fields
- OL Bryan Hudson
- DT D.J. Reader
- LB Micah McFadden
- LB Abdul Carter
- LB Kayvon Thibodeaux
- LB Arvell Reese
More stock down:
- DT C.J. Okoye
- WR Charlie Jones
- WR Darnell Mooney
- S Raheem Layne
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants stock report: Whose is up, down after Week 7 win over Texans