Giants vs. Texans: Cam Skattebo's Redemption Run Sets Up Devin Singletary's Week 7 OT Walk-Off

Cam Skattebo's last overtime ended with the ball on the turf at Washington. His next one, on Sunday in Houston, ended with a teammate in the end zone and Skattebo as the reason why. Skattebo's 42-yard burst on the Giants' second snap of overtime set up Devin Singletary's 30-yard touchdown run, and New York walked off the Texans 27-21 at Reliant Stadium to roll into its bye at 4-2-1.

Call it the cleanest exorcism in football. The redemption tour numbers: 17 carries, a career-high 124 yards and a touchdown, one week after he did not touch the ball at all against New Orleans. J.J. McCarthy, starting for the first time as a Giant, went 20 of 28 for 252 yards. Houston fell to 2-5 and is still looking for its first home win (0-4).

Long-Range Kicks, Short-Yardage Bullies

The first half of this 1 p.m. ET kickoff belonged to big legs and big bodies. Ka'imi Fairbairn opened the scoring with a 58-yard field goal, and McCarthy answered by completing his first five throws for 96 yards, the biggest a 42-yard dart to Malik Nabers that set up Tyrone Tracy Jr.'s 2-yard touchdown. Fairbairn drilled another from 57 to make it 7-6. Then Jameis Winston, benched as the starter but still employed as a battering ram, plunged in from a yard out after Thomas Fidone II's 29-yard grab. Giants 14-6.

Houston stole the momentum right back. C.J. Stroud marched the Texans 90 yards in under three minutes, found Marvin Harrison Jr. for a 6-yard score and hit Cade Stover for the two-point conversion. Tied at 14. Dominic Zvada, who had already pushed a 56-yarder wide right in the first quarter, missed wide right again from 44 at the end of the half.

The second half was a slog until it wasn't. Houston's first three second-half drives all ended in punts, and the Giants assembled a 14-play, 80-yard drive that drained 8:18 and ended with Skattebo breaking tackles on a 16-yard touchdown run, followed by a backflip. Houston answered with a 48-yard march after a Giants punt, and Stroud found Xavier Hutchinson from 3 yards out on third-and-goal with 52 seconds left. New York's last-gasp drive stalled well short of Zvada territory, and off to overtime we went.

Skattebo's Redemption Arc, McCarthy's Audition

Skattebo did not just run hard, he ran like a man settling a personal score. Next Gen Stats credited him with six forced missed tackles, according to Giants.com.

"When I fumbled against Washington, it wasn't in my mind to take care of the ball in that moment," Skattebo said. "This week, I made sure I took care of it."

McCarthy, acquired from Minnesota less than a month ago, played like he had run this offense for years: a 99.1 passer rating, five completions of 20-plus yards and a 47-yard strike to rookie Malachi Fields. Bonus poetry: he won a national title with Michigan in this same stadium in January 2024.

"He made some great throws," John Harbaugh said. "I'm sure he didn't play perfect, but he played a heck of a football game, and he deserves a lot of credit."

Nabers kept cooking with seven catches for 111 yards, his fourth straight 100-yard game and the longest active streak in the NFL, per Giants.com. Micah McFadden, in his first start since Week 1 of last season, piled up 10 tackles, and Deonte Banks held Nico Collins to one catch for four yards across 14 matchups, per Next Gen Stats figures cited by the team.

The Overtime Sequence That Settled It

Overtime opened with Houston's offense, and it lasted three snaps; Kayvon Thibodeaux even had a potential interception slip through his hands on second down.

New York took over at its own 19, and on second down Skattebo burst up the middle for 42 yards, the longest Giants run in overtime since Derrick Ward's 51-yarder against Carolina in 2008, per Giants.com. On the very next snap, Singletary went straight up the middle for 30 yards and the win, and that was that: 81 yards in three plays and 1:29. Giants.com says it is the longest walk-off touchdown run by a Giant in overtime.

Stats That Matter

• 188: Giants rushing yards, a season high allowed by Houston, at 5.5 yards per carry.
• 4: Different Giants with a rushing touchdown (Tracy, Winston, Skattebo, Singletary). Giants.com says it is only the fifth time in franchise history, and the first since 1950.
• 153: Stroud's passing yards, a season low, even with two touchdown throws.
• 420 to 237: The total-yardage gap, with New York holding the ball for 35:50.
• 0 for 2: Zvada on field goals, both misses wide right.

First Place, a Bye and a Quarterback Who Looks the Part

Per Giants.com, the Giants were guaranteed to head into their Week 8 bye leading the NFC East regardless of Sunday's result, but a win beats a loss for vibes, and this one came with a quarterback who looks ready for the job. The schedule turns serious on the other side: a trip to Philadelphia on Nov. 8, then Washington on Thursday Night Football.

Houston had climbed out of an 0-4 start with wins at Tennessee and Jacksonville, and this felt like a shove right back into the hole. "Sometimes we're swarming, sometimes we're not," defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said. "Sometimes we're tackling well, sometimes we're not, and we've got to find a way to do it on a consistent basis."

The silver linings were real. Tank Dell, back after missing almost two years, caught a 43-yard pass and returned a punt 14 yards. "I'm a playmaker man," Dell said. Harrison, in his second game since a trade from Arizona, scored against the Giants for the second time this season after doing it for the Cardinals in Week 4; per Giants.com, only Herschel Walker had previously scored against them for two teams in one season. The Texans did lose receiver Jaylin Noel to a toe injury in the fourth quarter. Both teams are off next week, and Houston visits the Chargers on Nov. 8.

Backflips Are Earned, Not Given

The best detail of the afternoon came from the sideline. Per the AP, receivers coach Chad Hall pulled Skattebo aside before that 16-yard run with a simple instruction: backflip time. Skattebo heard a prophecy.

"I knew that means: it's time to get in the end zone," Skattebo said. "He believed in me, and I was able to make it happen."

Two weeks ago he was the cautionary tale. Now he has a highlight run, a backflip and a bye week to enjoy both. Somewhere a sports-movie montage editor is taking notes.

Stats from the official box score and play-by-play via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press. Additional notes from Giants.com.