THE LOWDOWN
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Texans (1-6-1) travel to the Meadowlands to face the Giants (6-2) on Sunday. The Chronicle’s Texans beat writers Brooks Kubena and Jonathan M. Alexander discuss the most pressing issues heading into Sunday’s game at MetLife Stadium. How does Brandin Cooks’ and Nico Collins’ inevitable return possibly help this offense?
Kubena: There’s no question that Cooks and Collins will help the offense when they return. They have 50 catches, 659 yards and a touchdown between them.
Davis Mills fielded two of his worst starts in the past two games without one or both receivers, and he ought to be relieved that he’s getting them back against the Giants. All of the off-the-field issues aside, Cooks should be a major part of Houston’s game plan.
Offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton is too smart to not involve Cooks in the offense just because he’s disgruntled after not getting traded. Hamilton’s battling for his job, too.
The Texans are averaging almost the same amount of points per game this season (16.6) as they did last year (16.5), and they average the league’s second-fewest yards per drive (26.4). Those are the kind of numbers that got former offensive coordinator Tim Kelly fired. Houston’s running game is thriving under Hamilton, but the passing game is curiously underwhelming. Cooks has proven he can be an explosive receiver.
They need to find a way to make him one again.
Alexander: Respect to wide receivers Phillip Dorsett and Chris Moore for stepping up and having big games on such short notice. They both played well, combining for seven catches for 102 yards and a touchdown.
But that’s not sustainable.
The Texans need Cooks and Collins, their top two receivers, who both have shown how they can impact games.
Collins, at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, is a big target and a mismatch for opposing cornerbacks. And before his injury, he was starting to become quarterback Davis Mills’ go-to target.
Collins looked solid in practice and should be available to play against the Giants.
As for Cooks, he’s been one of the Texans’ best playmakers the past two years, and he currently leads the team in receptions and receiving yards. It’ll be incumbent on the Texans’ staff to get him the ball in different ways, but he is one of their best play makers.
The defense didn’t give up 300 yards against the Eagles last week. Does this mean they are improving, and should there be reason for optimism against the Giants?
Alexander: I wouldn’t go that far.
That 300-yard running game by the Titans was a bit of an outlier. They opted not to throw it with rookie quarterback Malik Willis, so they ran it the entire game.
But make no mistake, the Texans still struggled against the Eagles’ rushing attack last week. The Eagles rushed for 143 yards on 31 carries and two touchdowns. That might be better, but it’s certainly nothing to brag about.
The Giants are also a talented running team. They average
161.5 yards rushing per game behind running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones.
While Barkley is one of the best running backs in the league, Jones is more than capable of taking off and burning a defense. This is a tough game for the Texans’ defense.
Kubena: No. The Eagles still averaged 4.6 yards per carry and could run at will between the tackles and in the red zone. The Texans simply haven’t yet proven they can stop the run, no matter how the run game is incorporated in an opponent’s offensive scheme. The Eagles could access their entire runpass option/zone-read playbook due to their success on the ground.
As you mentioned, rookie Malik Willis could just hand the ball off to Derrick Henry 45 times for 314 yards in the thirdround pick’s debut. While Daniel Jones has been more effective as a passer this season, New York’s Saquon Barkley will make Jones look like Josh Allen if he expectedly exploits Houston’s problematic front, which has depth issues even with the potential return of Maliek Collins at defensive tackle.
How do you expect this game to go?
Alexander: Jones hasn’t thrown many interceptions this season, which surprised me when I looked at the stats.
But I think the Texans can force him to make a bad throw and make a play on the ball.
I’m going to say both offenses will play well. Dameon Pierce will rush for more than 100 yards. Barkley will, too. The Texans will get one takeaway, an interception by Desmond King. But the Texans will also turn it over, in the form of a Davis Mills interception that will end up being costly.
I actually think this will be a close game. And I have the Texans losing 28-25.
Kubena: Expect it to be short. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported earlier this week that through Week 9, the average game time is 3 hours, 1 minute and 55 seconds, which is the lowest in nearly three decades.
Both of these teams like to run the ball. The Giants have the NFL’s 25th-ranked rush defense, and the Texans rank dead last.
So, while Houston’s offense should have an uptick in efficiency, expect New York’s scheme to have more smooth sailing. The Giants blitz more than any other NFL team, which could attack rookie left guard Kenyon Green and force some crucial turnovers