Saquon Barkley runs all over Texans in Giants’ win

The Giants came out of the bye-week break on Sunday and looked like — the Giants.

The 2022 Giants, that is.

They relied on Saquon Barkley’s massive legs and Daniel Jones’ increasing maturity. They played defense aggressively and often effectively. There were moments when you wondered if the offense could get anything accomplished and other moments when you could envision a bad loss brewing.

The Giants were in control almost all afternoon down on the field but rarely completely in control on the scoreboard at MetLife Stadium.

This is a new team and this is a new season, and the Giants opened up the second half the way they moved through the first half of their season. They did enough to win, beating the lowly Texans 24-16, disposing of an inferior opponent uneasily and yet effectively.

Barkley carried the ball a career-high 35 times to amass 152 yards with a touchdown, as the Giants pounded away at the NFL’s bottom-ranked run defense. Jones was accurate (13 of 17) with the few passes he attempted and tossed touchdowns to tight end Lawrence Cager and wide receiver Darius Slayton.

This was the first time the Giants (7-2) won this season without first falling behind. They trailed in all six of their previous victories. The Texans (1-7-1) lost their fourth consecutive game.

This was another one-score game for the Giants, of course. Eight of their nine games finished up this way. It is the best record after nine games for the Giants since 2008, when they were 8-1 after nine games.

There were more (two) disgusted displays of frustration from coach Brian Daboll in the first half than there were scoring plays (one) from his team as the Giants took a meager 7-3 lead into halftime. They were keeping the Texans in the game. Then the third quarter happened and the Giants’ offense finally awakened.

Two series, two touchdowns, one on a long burst and another on a sustained drive.

Jones, on third-and-9 on the opening series of the third quarter, had to backpedal to avoid the rush and got the ball out short to Slayton. Rookie safety Jalen Pitre overran the play, allowing Slayton to motor to the left sideline, where he outran defensive backs Steven Nelson and Jonathan Owens to complete a dynamic 54-yard touchdown jaunt for a 14-3 Giants lead.

The Texans finally got their passing game going and Davis Mills hit Nico Collins, who beat Fabian Moreau, on a 12-yard scoring pass to make it 14-10. Undeterred, the Giants went 74 yards on 12 plays, the biggest chunk a 26-yard pickup from newcomer Isaiah Hodgins. Barkley powered in from two yards out to extend the lead to 21-10.

From there, the Giants defense turned aside two Texans scoring threats with turnovers. Leonard Williams yanked the ball loose from rookie running back Dameon Pierce, forcing a fumble that Jaylon Smith recovered on the Giants’ 11-yard line. Rookie safety Dane Belton, replacing injured Xavier McKinney, leaped for an interception of Mills in the end zone.

After the Texans closed to 21-13, they tried and failed on an onside kick. The Giants took over in Houston territory and Graham Gano hit a 49-yard field goal with 1:55 remaining to boost the lead back to 11 points. The Texans kicked a field goal with seven seconds to go.

Clearly, an emphasis coming out of the bye week was getting off to faster starts on offense, and coordinator Mike Kafka came out with a fast-paced attack, with the Giants getting to the line of scrimmage with alacrity. Barkley did not get untracked (six carries for 11 yards) but the passing game was crisp from the outset. The big play was a catch-and-run by Slayton for 36 yards — a Giants wide receiver has not been so open in the middle of the field all season — and Jones completed a 4-for-4 series with a 9-yard scoring flip to Cager.

The Giants completely controlled stretches of the first half — the Texans went three-and-out three times on offense and had minus-3 total yards in the first quarter — but turning the control into a sizable lead proved difficult. A promising possession was ruined when Jack Anderson, one of three extra offensive linemen in the game on fourth-and-1, did not set himself at the line and was called for a false start on the first play of the second quarter. As Daboll sent out the punt team, he lambasted Anderson on the sideline.

Another offensive series fueled by Barkley’s 27-yard burst reached the Houston 32-yard line before short-circuiting. A handoff in the backfield to rookie receiver Wan’Dale Robinson turned into chaos when Robinson, stopped initially, tried to reverse the play and was dropped for a 5-yard loss. A sack of Jones on third down pushed the Giants out of field goal position and then Gillan’s pop-up punt traveled only 14 yards, Daboll ripped off his headset in disgust.

On defense, the Giants had their way in the first half. They allowed one big play — a 44-yard run by Pierce — and that led to a Kai Fairbairn field goal. Otherwise, nada. The Texans had four first downs and 86 total yards.

Fittingly, the first half ended with a lame offensive series, as Jones was sacked as time expired. It got better for the Giants in the second half.