8 Giants who need to step up against Houston Texans to save the season | NFL Week 3

HOUSTON – For the Giants, it is still early in the 2018 season, but it could arrive very late.

Sitting in a 0-2 hole for the start of the second consecutive season, Sunday's match against the Houston Texans without a win at NRG Stadium is close to a must-see game for a Giants team that could not get out of his own way. in attack last week in an apathetic defeat against the Dallas Cowboys.

Despite the likes of Eli Manning, Odell Beckham Jr., Evan Engram and electrifying rookie Saquon Barkley, the Giants' offense is among the last five in the league.

Will it be the week when the offense will overthrow it? Can the defense contain quarterback Texans Deshaun Watson and his wide dynamic receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller?

Here is an overview of who should step in for the Giants, if they will win their first win of the season on Sunday:

It is not that Eli Manning has not been effective in the first two games of the season, he has completed 69.1% of his passes.

However, the problem that strikes Manning and the rest of the Giants' attack during a 0-2 start, is the inability to connect to the deep ball, especially Odell Beckham.

Beckham caught 11 passes against the Jacksonville Jaguars before being held four times for 51 yards in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys.

Manning averages 6.21 yards per attempt, putting him 26th in the league.

If the Giants' offense, ranked fifth at the bottom of the NFL scoring a goal, will one day go up to the end, Manning will have to start logging on.

One of the reasons that Manning is having trouble and that Saquon Barkley has been far more dominant as a receiver than a runner so far, is the suboptimal performance of the offensive line.

Manning was sacked six times last week and the Cowboys scored eight hits in the quarterback while keeping Barkley 28 yards in 11 carries.

From now on, the offensive line has to leave the center, Jon Halapio, who was lost for the season with a broken ankle during week 2.

Halapio had been the Giants' top offensive lineman before getting injured and John Greco had the first chance to replace him. Greco joins an offensive line that has existed since the first day of the OTA, but which has struggled powerfully in all phases as a unit.

After giving up a bag and being sentenced to two penalties against the Jaguars, Ereck Flowers played three solid quarters against the Cowboys.

Then he returned a bag of the second half late.

There were some good things to be learned from Flowers after the Cowboys game, but so far he has not been much better at the right offense than he was last season when he gave 6.5 bags in career.