New York Giants fall, 28-10, to Houston Texans in Daniel Jones’ return

• The Giants had five turnovers in the game — two interceptions and three fumbles. The two interceptions by Jones were costly. One was a preventable pick-six deep in Giants territory and another was an underthrown pass deep down the sideline for Jalin Hyatt that killed another drive.
• The Giants ran for 155 yards against Detroit last week but could only manage 74 in this game. The Texans, meanwhile, had 114 yards on the ground.
• The secondary needs work. The Texans have a league-class receiver group and the Giants had issues keeping up. Houston completed 24 of 38 passing attempts and also had several big plays negated by penalties.
• The Giants went one of two in the red zone while Houston converted on three of their four trips.
• Injuries are creeping up on the Giants again. Several key players missed the game and some others were knocked out during.

Houston backup running back British Brooks scored the first of his two touchdowns on the afternoon to widen the score to 21-10 with just over 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

• Wide receiver Malik Nabers caught four of six targets for 54 yards. The first-round draft pick dropped his first target but then rebounded to make several nice plays. He showed why the Giants were so excited when they landed him on draft night.
• Rookie defensive tackle Elijah Chatman stood out again. He showed his versatility and speed by chasing down running back J.J. Taylor down the sideline, catching him from behind. Very impressive for a 6-foot, 285-pound man.
• The offensive line appears to be much improved over last season (which would not be hard to do). The slew of veterans signed by general manager Joe Schoen since last year have elevated both the professionalism and cohesiveness up front.
• Darius Slayton, the Giants’ most reliable receiver since 2019, had another productive game with three receptions for 59 yards, including a 44-yarder in the second quarter that landed the Giants on the one-yard line. Devin Singletary then scored on a one-yard dive.
• Rookie defensive back Alex Johnson had another strong showing, leading the team with seven tackles.
• And, yes, Daniel Jones. He threw an inexplicably bad interception in the first quarter for an easy six points for the Texans and then underthrew Jalin Hyatt on a deep pass down the sideline for another pick. Jones rebounded nicely, however, making several quality back-shoulder throws and leading the Giants on two scoring drives.

Inside linebacker Micah McFadden left the playing field via cart in the first quarter with a hip injury and did not return. He was replaced by rookie Darius Muasau as Dyontae Johnson (ankle) did not dress. McFadden had five total stops in the game at the time of the injury.

Defensive lineman Ryder Anderson left the game with a hamstring injury in the first quarter and was ruled out for the rest of the game.

Linebacker Matt Adams was walked off the field after being shaken up by a helmet-to-helmet hit on Texans running back J.J. Taylor. He was taken to the locker room for further evaluation and was ruled out with a groin injury in the third quarter.

Defensive lineman D.J. Davidson left the game in the fourth quarter with an eye/face injury.

Offensive lineman Yodny Cajuste left the game in the fourth quarter with a foot injury.

Center John Michael Schmitz also left the game in the first quarter and was spelled by Austin Schottmann. Schmitz was not hurt but rather on a play count in this game. He recently returned to action after missing eight practices with a shoulder issue and was only scheduled to get about 15 snaps.

Head coach Brian Daboll will hold a Zoom call with the team’s beat writers on Sunday morning before a few players are also made available.

Big Blue will return to practice on Tuesday ahead of a Week 3 preseason game against the New York Jets on Saturday, August 24 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EDT.