The Giants were in a great position at 3-1 with four seemingly winnable games coming up.

However, after a tie with the Commanders and a loss to the Saints, they find themselves on the verge of losing their grip on the NFC East if they lose again in Houston on Sunday.

Here are the main storylines to watch as the Giants face the Texans in Week 7…

A tough test against the resurgent Texans

A couple of weeks ago, Giants fans might have been looking ahead to this game as a potentially easy win. The Texans had just dropped to 0-4, losing to a Cowboys team that the Giants beat earlier in the year.

Things have turned around for the Texans since then, though, and they're now hoping for a third straight win that would put them right back in the mix in the AFC South.

Houston blew out the Titans by 23 to get back on track, then outdueled the Jaguars, 34-31, in an exciting shootout in London to improve to 2-4. This is now looking like one of New York's toughest games of the season so far.

J.J. McCarthy makes his first start

The recent trade acquisition has been named the starter for Sunday following a remarkable performance against the Saints last weekend.

McCarthy replaced the ineffective Jameis Winston in the fourth quarter with the Giants trailing the Saints, 34-10. By the end of the game, he had tied the all-time franchise record for passing yards in a quarter and had the Giants on the brink of an incredible comeback.

While the comeback bid ultimately fell short, it was enough to earn McCarthy his shot at starting in Houston. He was 6-4 as a starter last season, and will be eager to get off to a winning start as New York's new QB1.

Can the Giants run the ball on the Texans?

The Texans' resurgence has been credited in large part to head coach DeMeco Ryans taking on a more hands-on role with the defense, but they already had one of the best run defenses in the NFL.

Heading into the London game, they were No. 1 against the run and hadn't allowed any player to rush for 40 yards against them all year. While they actually gave up a season-high 106 yards on Sunday, they have held all of their other opponents to under 90 yards.

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