The New York Giants will face the Texans this week for just the sixth time since Houston entered the NFL as an expansion team in 2002.
The Giants have won the last four meetings after losing the first one in Week 12 of the 2002 season. The host Giants, under head coach Jim Fassel, entered the game with a 6-4 record, while Dom Capers’ squad was 2-8.
The Giants outgained Houston 369-212 and held quarterback David Carr — the top pick in that year’s NFL draft — to 103 yards passing, sacking him five times.
But they still managed to lose the game, 16-14. They finished 10-6 and qualified for the NFC Playoffs, but this loss was a head-scratcher.
The Texans used a trick play, a big punt return and two field goals by Kris Brown — the last one a 50-yarder with 6:57 to play — to defeat the Giants 16-14 Sunday.
“This one is going to sting,” Giants quarterback Kerry Collins said. “We did not play well enough to win, but we are just going to have to come back and get a win next week.”
Let us not forget the bad snap on a punt that went for a safety — the eventual difference in the game. It was one of the many inexplicably listless and sloppy performances the Giants logged during Fassel’s tenure.
“All week long, all I talked about was being ready,” Fassel said. “I know we made mistakes. They were trying to play hard and were playing hard, but we just made mistakes too many times. … We made enough mistakes to cost us the game: a field goal missed that should have been made, a ball over the punter’s head to give them two other points. I’m not happy about that at all.”
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