Did the Giants turn a corner with the victory over the Texans?

Giants fans should not be too excited about their victory over the Texans. The sad truth is that they just won a match between two of the worst teams in the NFL.

For a week, Eli Manning looked like the exact quarter the Giants need this season. Unfortunately, his performance against the Texans is an exception rather than the rule. All New York did on Sunday was to win a match against another bad NFL team.

Full credit at Manning. He was excellent against the porous defense of Houston. The veteran flagman completed 25 of 29 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns. It was just enough for his team to win 27-22. This is not enough, however, to change the long-term prospects of the Giants season.

The Texans have been 0-2 coming in this match for a reason. Their defense does not play at the same level as in previous years when J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus suffocated the opposing quarterbacks. Watt has come to Manning three times in this game, but Houston's high school has been a mess in this game. The absence of Kevin Johnson forced Aaron Colvin to move from start to finish. This clearly did not work against Odell Beckham Jr. and company.

The real reason the Giants offensive worked in this match was due to their elite talent in skill positions. Beckham Jr. left for nine catches for 109 yards. Saquon Barkley was also effective. The rookie has accumulated 82 yards in 17 races. Their talent was just enough to allow the Giants to be on the edge of the Texans.

It should be noted that the Giants defense was a mess in this game. The Texans entered this game without offensive momentum. Bill O'Brien's side saw their first leg play against a shaken Giants side. Deshaun Watson had by far his best outing of the season with 385 yards passing. The Giants are not going to win a lot of football games when they give up that kind of footage in the air.

The conclusion here is that the Giants are still exactly the team we thought they were starting this week. They have elite players in attack that will allow them to win games where they can defend themselves elsewhere in the field. This means that they will be able to beat the bad news most of the time. That's all they did on Sunday. 8-8 would still be a good season for the Giants in 2018.