Grading Every Texans Position Group After Week 7 Loss to Giants

The Houston Texans are now 2-5 following the events of an embarrassing Week 7 overtime loss at home against the New York Giants, coming up short 21-27.

And in the aftermath of the Texans' defeat, it's now time to hand out our weekly grades for just how each position group on the roster performed in their last game before heading into a much-needed bye week.

Let's sort through every position on the Texans' roster and break down a letter grade on how each performed in this one.

Offensive Grades

Oct 25, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) reacts after a play during overtime against the New York Giants at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

QB: B-

While we've certainly seen C.J. Stroud perform a whole lot better in multiple games this season, he certainly wasn't the reason the Texans came up short in this game. The offensive woes Houston fell into within this game felt like a play-calling issue rather than anything the guy under center couldn't do.

Stroud completed 60% of his passes for 157 yards, threw for two touchdowns to Marvin Harrison Jr. and a clutch fourth-quarter score to Xavier Hutchinson, and it was another week of no turnovers for the Texans' QB1. He at least gets a passing grade.

RB: B

In a game that the Texans had just two running backs on the active roster, Woody Marks became the guy leading the way with all of Houston's work in the backfield this game, logging 19 carries for 66 yards, along with one reception for 15 yards.

It does feel as if the Texans have started to build at least some momentum on the ground over the past three weeks, which comes as an interesting outcome knowing that David Montgomery has been a non-factor in each of those games due to a groin injury.

WR: D+

What a bizarre game for the Texans' wide receiver room; one that became so highly acclaimed heading into the week for the depth and talent they had around the position, only to not utilize those pass-catchers as a big part of their game plan.

The Texans’ leader in targets in the wide receiver room? Xavier Hutchinson with six. Hutchinson and tight end Dalton Schultz combined for more looks their way than Nico Collins, Marvin Harrison, Jaylin Noel, and Tank Dell altogether. This cannot be a recurring theme in Houston's offensive game plan. Enough said.

TE: C+

Dalton Schultz did manage to turn in a bit of a better performance in this game than he's been accustomed to over the past few weeks since his breakout 140-yard game in Week 2 vs. the Cincinnati Bengals. He hauled in five of six targets for 45 yards.

However, outside of Schultz, we really didn't see much from this tight end room of five contributors, leading to the same question many fans and analysts have been asking for the past several weeks: why have so many tight ends on the roster if they aren't going to be a key part of the game plan? And where's Marlin Klein?

OL: D

Protection-wise, the Texans' offensive line did quite alright. They helped this run game look a bit better than we've seen over the first four weeks, and Stroud only got taken down for one sack for no loss.

But, man, the penalties in this game were, in the words of DeMeco Ryans: "ridiculous." The Texans had eight flags thrown over the course of the game, and four of them came due to the offensive line: holding, illegal formation, false start, etc. Houston is now up to over 50 penalties through seven weeks, that's set them back a total of 500 yards.

Defensive Grades

Oct 25, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo (44) runs with the ball during overtime against the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

DL: D-

This Texans' defensive line was anything but at the level we know them capable of being this weekend. Not only did they struggle to get consistent pressure on quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who was taken down for just three sacks on the day (two of them coming from defensive backs), but the way in which they defended the run was inexcusable.

The Giants averaged a whopping 5.5 yards per rush on 34 attempts on the day. And inevitably, it would be that lack of stout run defense that would be Houston's demise, thanks to a pair of explosive carries from Cam Skattebo and Devin Singletary in overtime.

LB: C-

Henry To'oTo'o had a solid start to this game and put together what's certainly his best performance since returning from his shoulder injury from the start of this season with 10 total tackles, two tackles for loss, and 0.5 sacks.

However, a large part of the Texans' tackling issues also have to fall upon the shoulders of this linebacker unit as well. Azeez Al-Shaair logged just two solo tackles on the day, adding onto what's been a bit of an underwhelming season on his behalf. Maybe the injuries he's suffered over the past few weeks are playing a part in that.

CB: D

Derek Stingley, to his credit, did his job in this game. He allowed just two catches for 33 yards and a 62.9 passer rating on the five plays he was targets. But as for Kamari Lassiter and Tremon Smith? Not the same type of performance.

Those two combined to allow 117 yards and six receptions on eight targets, and each allowed for over a 100.0 passer rating when targeted. Malik Nabers and Malachi Fields had their way, and the Texans' secondary struggled to have an answer.

S: C+

The Texans' safety unit feels like the one area of this defense that played somewhat serviceably against the Giants. M.J. Stewart led the team in combined tackles (which is indicative of how poorly Houston was able to tackle in the first and second level of the defense), but he also had 0.5 sacks and a pass deflection in his first game starting in place of an injured Reed Blankenship.

Calen Bullock wasn't able to add to his interception total after boosting his tally in last week's game vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars, chipping in for just four tackles, but a takeaway sure could've helped Houston's chances of avoiding such an ugly loss at home.

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