HOUSTON _ The offense showed signs of life, the defense came up with a pair of key takeaways, and the Giants won their first game of the season. Those elements _ plus playing a winless opponent more inept than themselves _ proved to be the recipe for success the Giants had been lacking.
Eli Manning completed 25 of 29 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-22 win over the Texans at NRG Stadium. Odell Beckham Jr. caught nine passes for 109 yards and Saquon Barkley accounted for 117 all-purpose yards in the virtual must-win game for the Giants. They improve to 1-2 while the Texans fall to 0-3.
It was the first win for Pat Shurmur as coach of the Giants.
The Giants dominated the first half and led 20-3 late in the second quarter. Barkley scored the first touchdown for the Giants on a 15-yard run to make it 7-3 _ the first time this season the Giants led in a game _ and after a pair of Giants field goals Rhett Ellison caught a 16-yard touchdown pass with 1:20 left in the second quarter. The Texans kicked a field goal as time expired in the first half to cut it to 20-6.
The Giants' offense returned to stagnation in the third quarter and it was left up to the Giants' defense to hold the lead. After allowing another field goal that made it 20-9, they did with a pair of takeaways deep in their own territory. First defensive end Kerry Wynn forced a fumble that was recovered by Donte Deayon at the Giants' 20 with 3:47 left in the third, and then linebacker Alec Ogletree intercepted a pass by Deshaun Watson for running back Lamar Miller in the end zone just 55 seconds into the fourth.
Will Fuller V caught a 6-yard touchdown from Watson with 7:37 remaining, but the Giants stuffed a shovel pass on the two-point conversion and held onto a 20-15 edge. The Giants responded with a nine-play, 77-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 7-yard TD pass to Sterling Shepard with 2:08 left to make it 27-15 and seal the win.
