New York @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 21, 2014 ) Houston 17, N.Y. Giants 30

There are only seven 0-2 teams remaining in the NFL and two of them will square off Sunday afternoon when the New York Giants visit the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. It will mark the home opener for the Texans, who rank 26th in the league in scoring at 18.5 points while the Giants are tied for 29th with the Dallas Cowboys at 14 points per game.

The teams combined for only seven wins in 2017 but injuries were a huge factor -- New York lost its best offensive player in Odell Beckham Jr. while Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered a torn ACL just before the midway point of the season. The Texans scored 162 points in their last four games with Watson under center a year ago but they have scored just 13 first-half points in the first two contests this season. "We can't compare ourselves to last year," said Watson, who finished 22 of 32 for 310 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in a 20-17 loss at Tennessee last week. "We're really close to being where we want to be offensively." The Giants may make a concerted effort to feed rookie running back Saquon Barkley, who was held in check on the ground in a 20-13 setback to the Dallas Cowboys.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Texans -6. O/U: 42

ABOUT THE GIANTS (0-2): Eli Manning has thrown for one touchdown and one interception over the first two games and couldn't get the passing game untracked against the Cowboys, with 14 of his 33 completions going to Barkley out of the backfield. The No. 2 overall pick this year, Barkley was held to 28 yards by Dallas after going for 106 yards and a score versus Jacksonville in the season opener. Beckham also had a strong opener with 11 receptions for 111 yards but he was bottled up by the Cowboys for much of the game and wound up with four catches for 51 yards. New York's defense is 29th in the NFL against the run (137.5 yards per game) as it prepares to face Houston's top-ranked rushing attack (157.5).

ABOUT THE TEXANS (0-2): DeAndre Hopkins carried the passing game last season with 94 catches and an NFL-leading 13 touchdowns and is off to another fast start with 14 receptions, but fellow wideout Will Fuller also went over 100 yards and had a touchdown catch last week. While Lamar Miller leads the team with 166 yards rushing, Watson has bolstered the ground game by chipping in with 84 yards. Houston has only three sacks and is focused on getting its past rush untracked, particularly after Manning was taken down six times by the Cowboys. Former No. 1 overall draft pick Jadeveon Clowney, who had 9.5 sacks in 2017, sat out last week's game but insisted he will be in the lineup against the Giants.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Beckham has 46 receptions for 620 yards and five touchdowns in six career road games versus the AFC.

2. Watson had 12 touchdown passes versus two interceptions in his last three home games.

3. New York has won the past three meetings against the Texans.

PREDICTION: Texans 23, Giants 20