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The Giants went up 20-3 thanks to Houston’s secondary playing soft zone coverage and giving up yards on quick, easy crossing routes that didn’t allow the Texans’ pass rush to get there in time to avoid them getting beat in man coverage or the pass rush not getting there at all. From there, J.J. Watt tried to save the Texans’ season on his own. He forced field goals with pressures, made tackles for a loss, strip-sacked Eli Manning, and worked replacement tackle Chad Wheeler with a flurry of inside moves.
Houston’s offense kicked a bunch of field goals and even scored a touchdown while the Giants went Bill O’Brien conservative and sat on the ball for the rest of the game. Houston managed to get back within a score with some actual downfield throwing. Once the Giants had to try and score again, they did and did so immediately, making the game 27-15 and effectively ending the game.
At 0-3, the Texans’ season is pretty much over. 183 teams have started 0-3. Only 2.7% of all teams who started 0-3 made the NFL Playoffs. Of those four teams, the best record was 11-5. In a tougher AFC South, this feat looks impossible at the moment.
At least J.J. Watt’s back. I don’t know. I’m going to go for a walk. I’ll have more to say tomorrow.