The Texans (1-6-1) hit the road for a Week 10 matchup with the Giants (6-2) at MetLife Stadium. It’s the sixth meeting between the franchises, and Houston’s seeking a win over New York for the first time since 2002. Here are five things to watch when the two squads kick off at noon CT.
1) What have you done for me, lately?
If you remove the win over Jacksonville, Houston’s been outscored 69-17 in the fourth quarter of the other seven games in 2022. In five of those contests they couldn’t muster any points, while the opposition put up a combined 59 points.
The Giants, meanwhile, have been excellent in the fourth quarter. They’ve outscored opponents a combined 61-36, and the only times they’ve lost have been when the Cowboys and Seahawks scored more in the fourth.
The Texans have to get better in the late stage of a game.
“We have to finish,” Head coach Lovie Smith said. “We’ve got to get it in the end zone. It’s as simple as that. We had our moments, but just playing good, consistent ball and finishing the right way, we haven’t made it there yet. We’ll start seeing more W’s once we’re able to get that taken care of.”
Defensive Back Tavierre Thomas echoed the head coach.
“I feel like we just need to finish,” Thomas said. “We start games strong. We start fast. Lovie preaches start fast and finish.”
It’s one thing to say it. Thomas explained what he and his teammates need to do make stronger finishes a reality.
“Like in the first half we were doing our job cleaner than the second half,” Thomas said. “So if we continue to just go out there and do our job, really do your job, stay in your gap, read your keys and run to the football, I feel like we will get over the hump.”
2) Beat the blitz
The Texans know the Giants like to blitz. According to Next Gen Stats, under Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, New York has sent an extra pass-rusher 42.9 percent of the time when other teams throw the ball.
“They’re going to blitz more than any team we’re going to play all year, but we…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News…