It’s been a day of comebacks in Houston.
J.J. McCarthy made his first start for the Giants, and his first since Week 18 of last season. He threw for 178 yards in the first half.
Giants running back Cam Skattebo, after getting zero touches last week, has eight carries for 27 yards.
Marvin Harrison Jr. scored his first touchdown as a Texan, and Tank Dell, in his first game in almost two years, had a 43-yard reception.
The teams are tied 14-14 at halftime after Giants kicker Dominic Zvada missed a 44-yard field goal on the final play of the first half. Zvada also missed from 56 yards in the first half.
The Giants outgained the Texans 221 to 144 in the first half.
McCarthy was 9-for-12, but Jameis Winston scored on a quarterback sneak. Winston has three carries for 3 yards on short-yardage plays.
McCarthy became the first Giants quarterback with two 40-plus-yard completions since 2011.
Malik Nabers has four catches for 94 yards.
C.J. Stroud went 10-of-15 for 108 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown throw to Harrison, his former Ohio State teammate. Dell leads the team in receiving yards, while playing his first game since Week 13 of the 2024 season when he had a gruesome knee injury that kept him out all of last season and six games of this season.
Nico Collins has no catches.
Cade Stover caught a shovel pass from Stroud on a 2-point conversion.
Texans Clips
J.J. McCarthy has taken over as the Giants’ starting quarterback, and Cam Skattebo has resumed his role as the team’s lead running back.
The result on the first drive was a nine-play, 66-yard touchdown drive.
McCarthy was 3-for-3 for 52 yards, and Skattebo had two carries for 9 yards.
Tyrone Tracy scored on a 2-yard run to give the the Giants a 7-3 lead on the Texans.
Malik Nabers caught a 42-yard pass, and wide receiver Darnell Mooney ran for 3 yards on a fourth-and-2 play.
The Texans opened the game with a six-play, 25-yard drive, ending in Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 58-yard field goal.
The 3-2-1 Giants have made a quarterback change in advance of the city known for countdowns. And the count of starting quarterbacks who were first-round draft picks is up to one, two, and now three.
J.J. McCarthy, who arrived via trade with the Vikings less than a month ago, becomes the third former first-round pick to start a game for the Giants. They’re the third team since the AFL-NFL merger to do that, matching the 2011 Raiders (Carson Palmer, Jason Campbell, Kyle Boller) and the 1984 Bears (Jim McMahon, Steve Fuller, Greg Landry).
McCarthy carries a four-game winning streak into the former Michigan quarterback’s reunion with former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud. And Stroud has won two games in a row for the Texans, who hope to avoid starting 0-4 at home for the first time in franchise history.
McCarthy gave the Giants a massive spark in the fourth quarter of the Week 6 loss to the Saints, throwing for 243 yards — and doing enough to earn the spot over Jameis Winston. If McCarthy can pull off the victory over the Texans, he’ll become the new toast of the town. And he’ll start the process of flipping the narrative of New York first-round quarterbacks who struggle there before finding success elsewhere.
Even if that’s a decidedly Jets dynamic.
The Jets won’t be getting running back Breece Hall back in the lineup for Sunday’s home date against the Dolphins.
Hall was listed as questionable on Friday due to the quad injury that’s kept him out for the last two games, but he wound up on the wrong side of that decision when the team released its inactive list for Week 7. Hall was limited in practice during the week and a move to full practice may be necessary for him to get back in the lineup.
Braelon Allen has 41 carries for 194 yards and a touchdown as the starter in Hall’s absence.
While Hall remains out, the Jets will be getting wide receiver Adonai Mitchell back in the lineup. He’s missed the last four games with a finger injury.
Dolphins at Jets
Dolphins: LB Willie Gay, WR Jalen Tolbert, CB Marcellas Dial, CB Reese Taylor, DE Rob Beal, OL DJ Campbell, OT Chukwuebuka Godrick
Jets: CB Jarvis Brownlee, RB Kene Nwangwu, RB Breece Hall, LB Joseph Ossai, OL Max Mitchell, G Dylan Parham, DL Jack Heflin
49ers at Falcons
49ers: DE Nick Bosa, WR Mike Evans, WR Deebo Samuel, LB Luke Gifford, LB Garret Wallow, S Marques Sigle, QB Kurtis Rourke
Falcons: QB Jack Strand, LB Divine Deablo, CB Avieon Terrell, QB Andy Dalton, WR Olamide Zaccheaus, RB Brian Robinson, DB Billy Bowman
Giants at Texans
Giants: OL Josh Sills, TE Theo Johnson, OL Marcus Mbow, CB Greg Newsome, CB Nikko Reed, S Jevon Holland, QB Jake Haener
Texans: T Blake Fisher, G Febechi Nwaiwu, T Nathan Thomas, TE Marlin Klein, RB David Montgomery, S Jalen Pitre, S Reed Blankenship
Bengals at Ravens
Bengals: S Russ Yeast, C Connor Lew, OT Myles Hinton, DE Shemar Stewart, DT Landon Robinson
Ravens: QB Lamar Jackson, S Jaylinn Hawkins, WR Elijah Sarratt, G Andrew Vorhees, DT Broderick Washington
Buccaneers at Panthers
Buccaneers: DL DeMonte Capehart, WR Emeka Egbuka, CB Ayden Garnes, T Luke Goedeke, G Billy Schrauth, S Antoine Winfield Jr.
Panthers: TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, LB Jaelan Phillips, QB Haynes King, RB AJ Dillon, C Sam Hecht, OT Stone Forsythe, DT TeRah Edwards
Colts at Vikings
Colts: LB Bryce Boettcher, LB CJ Allen, CB Sauce Gardner, TE Tyler Warren, WR Anthony Gould, G Dalton Tucker, QB Riley Leonard
Vikings: S Jakobe Thomas, QB Max Brosmer, CB Chuck Demmings, RB Demond Claiborne, OT Caleb Tiernan, DL Elijah Williams
Browns at Titans
Browns: QB Taylen Green, LB Justin Jefferson, CB Noah Igbinoghene, RB Audric Estime, DT Mike Hall Jr., C Parker Brailsford
Titans: WR Calvin Ridley, RB Tyjae Spears, RB Nick Singleton, TE Kylen Granson, OT Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, DT Jackie Marshall, CB Jaylon Jones
Tank Dell will play his first game in nearly two years on Sunday when the Texans play the Giants.
The team officially activated the wide receiver back to the active roster from reserve/PUP.
Dell dislocated his kneecap and tore multiple knee ligaments in a Dec. 21, 2024, game against the Chiefs. He missed the rest of that season, all of last season and the first six games of this season with the gruesome knee injury.
Dell’s rookie season of 2023 ended on a broken leg in Week 13.
The Texans also announced they elevated cornerback Bryce Hall and linebacker Kenneth Murray from the practice squad.
The Giants ruled out a pair of players for Week 7 on Saturday afternoon.
Safety Jevon Holland will not play against the Texans. Holland was listed as questionable due to a concussion, but the move to rule him out suggests that he has not cleared the concussion protocol yet.
The Giants ruled linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and cornerback Greg Newsome out on Friday, so the defense will be shorthanded in several areas as they try to bounce back from last weekend’s loss to the Saints.
Tight end Theo Johnson has also been ruled out. He was listed as doubtful to play due to a neck injury, so it is not a surprise that he will miss the game.
The Texans will be short-handed on Sunday, without four key players.
Running back David Montgomery (groin), safety Jalen Pitre (shoulder), offensive tackle Blake Fisher (thumb) and safety Reed Blankenship (concussion/hand) will not play.
The Texans list wide receiver Tank Dell (knee) as questionable, but he is expected to play. His last game action came in 2024 when a gruesome knee injury knocked him out of the rest of that season and all of 2025.
Tight end Dalton Schultz (quad), linebacker Henry To’oTo’o (shoulder) and tight end Brevin Jordan (foot) returned to full participation in Friday’s practice and all three are good to go.
The Giants won’t have linebacker Tremaine Edmunds in the lineup against the Texans on Sunday and he reportedly will miss the rest of the season.
Edmunds was ruled out on Friday due to a shoulder injury. Dan Duggan of TheAthletic.com reports that the injury is expected to sideline Edmunds for the rest of the team’s games.
Edmunds signed with the Giants this offseason and had 50 tackles and two sacks in the first six games. Micah McFadden is expected to take over his role in the starting lineup.
Cornerback Greg Newsome (concussion) has also been ruled out and tight end Theo Johnson (neck) is expected to miss the game after being listed as doubtful. Cornerback Paulson Adebo (knee), right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (calf), safety Jevon Holland (concussion), offensive lineman Marcus Mbow (knee), and safety Tyler Nubin (neck) are listed as questionable.
The Texans had seven players out of practice on Wednesday. Three returned to practice Thursday.
Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (knee) and tight end Dalton Schultz (quad) returned to limited participation, and offensive tackle Trent Brown (wrist) was a full participant.
Safety Reed Blankenship (concussion/hand), offensive tackle Blake Fisher (thumb), running back David Montgomery (groin) and safety Jalen Pitre (shoulder) remained out a second consecutive day.
Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (knee) and defensive end Logan Hall (knee) were full participants on Thursday after being limited Wednesday. Linebacker Henry To’oTo’o (shoulder) was again limited.
Wide receiver Tank Dell (knee) was a full participant and is expected to play Sunday, his first game action since 2024.
The Texans added offensive guard Ed Ingram (back/hip) and tight end Brevin Jordan (foot) to their report Thursday. Ingram was a full participant, and Jordan was limited.
Texans wide receiver Tank Dell has not played a game since Dec. 21, 2024, when he tore multiple ligaments and dislocated his kneecap in a game against the Chiefs. The gruesome knee injury threatened his career.
“I’m blessed,” Dell said, via DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN. “I want to thank God for getting me back in this position. But I don’t think I’m overwhelmed. I’m anxious, of course, but I don’t think I’m overwhelmed. I’m anxious to get back out there and play some football.”
The Texans opened Dell’s practice window on Oct. 5, and he returns to game action on Sunday against the Giants.
“I know it’s a lot of questions, like, ‘How he gonna look when he gets tackled?’” Dell said. “I don’t care about none of that. I’m ready to get tackled. I’m gonna be joyful. Y’all gonna see the passion I have after I had that first catch.”
Dell, a third-round pick in 2023, will likely be on a snap count Sunday. That doesn’t matter to him or to the Texans.
“It’s just getting Tank back out there after missing two years of football,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “That’s the main thing. Him just going out playing ball. I don’t care how many reps he gets. But I’ll have my Tank Dell jersey on.”
Dell has 98 receptions for 1,376 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career.
