The Giants came into Sunday's game in Houston off a tie and a loss that led to a quarterback change and oddsmakers installed them as heavy underdogs as a result.
That proved to be a miscalculation. The Giants led for much of the first half and moved back in front in the fourth quarter before the Texans were able to rally and send the game to overtime. The Giants defense forced a stop and two big runs by Cam Skattebo and Devin Singletary gave them a walk-off 27-21 win in their final game before the bye.
Skattebo, Singletary, and Tyrone Tracy combined to run 28 times for 180 yards while J.J. McCarthy went 20-of-28 for 252 yards as part of a full-team effort that earned praise from head coach John Harbaugh after the game. Harbaugh said that people were "going to find out about who they are" in this game and that the players "took the bull by the horns" to improve to 4-2-1.
"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," Harbaugh said, via a transcript from the team. "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."
Regardless of what happens on Monday night or next week, the Giants know they'll be in first place when they return to the field against the Eagles in Week 9. They'll follow that with a quick turnaround to the Commanders on Thursday night, which gives them a chance to take the NFC East by the horns at the start of the second half. Sunday's performance provided plenty of reason to think they can do exactly that.