Giants Defense Destroys Chicago

The Giants needed a confidence boost almost as much as they needed a win. Last Sunday night they got both. The Giants defense didn't just shut down Chicago's offense. They totally dominated them. Decimated them. Destroyed them. Nine sacks in the first half. The Giants sent Cutler to the showers and then proceeded to knock backup Todd Collins out of the game. Chicago couldn't run. Couldn't pass. And couldn't protect their QBs.

However, all was not perfect in Giants land. Far from it. The flip side is that the Giants offense was almost equally dominated by Chicago's defense. They finally kicked some life into the tires after half time, but concerns with the offense line and running game (i.e. Brandon Jacobs) remain. And special teams remain horrid.

But, at the end of the day, the Giants faced a well balanced team and dominated them. And did so without any offense of their own. Sunday afternoon they face the 3-1 Houston Texans, another well balanced team that will present another test for the Giants defense. Don't expect Matt Schaub to allow himself to become the punching bag Cutler did. He will take shorter drops and get the ball out quickly. WR Andre Johnson is legitimately one of the very best in the league. And the Giants will have to honor the run or else they will get run over by Adrian Foster, quietly putting up great numbers this year. Furthermore, former Giant Derrick Ward, who recently joined the Texans, will be anxious to show a thing or two to his former teammates. And on offense, the Giants' offensive line must control Mario Williams and Brian Cushing - against the pass and run.

This is a very evenly matched game. The Giants need to string some wins together if they are going to have any success this year. To do that, the defense needs to build off of last week's dominance and, first and foremost, totally shut down the Texan's ability to run the ball. That must be the primary goal. However, against the Texans, it won't be enough. They will also have to pressure Schaub and do it with their base package and only an occasional blitz. At the end of the day, I believe the Giants defense is better than Houston's allowing the Giants to walk away with back to back wins for the first time this season.

Prediction: NY 24, Houston 17