Texans Erase Eight-Point Hole to Tie Giants 14-14 at Halftime in Houston

The Houston Texans and New York Giants reached halftime tied 14-14 on Sunday in Houston, after Giants kicker Dominic Zvada missed a 44-yard field goal on the final play of the first half, NBC Sports reported. Zvada had also missed from 56 yards earlier in the half, and the miss left a game the Giants had largely controlled — they outgained Houston 221 yards to 144 in the first half — level at the break.

Houston opened the scoring with Ka'imi Fairbairn's 58-yard field goal, before Tyrone Tracy's 2-yard run gave New York a 7-3 lead on a nine-play, 66-yard drive. Fairbairn answered from 57 yards, but Jameis Winston scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak to put the Giants ahead 14-6. In the final minute of the half, Stroud threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. — Harrison's first touchdown as a Texan, and a score thrown by his former Ohio State teammate — and Cade Stover caught a shovel pass from Stroud on the two-point conversion to tie it.

J.J. McCarthy, making his first start for the Giants and his first since Week 18 of last season, went 9-for-12 for 178 yards in the half and became the first Giants quarterback with two 40-plus-yard completions since 2011, NBC Sports reported; Malik Nabers had four catches for 94 yards. Stroud went 10-for-15 for 108 yards for Houston, while Nico Collins had no catches in the half. Tank Dell, playing his first game since Week 13 of the 2024 season after a severe knee injury that cost him the rest of that season, all of last season and the first six games of this one, led the Texans in receiving yards in the half, highlighted by a 43-yard reception. The game continued in the second half; a final file will follow.