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Thank goodness style points don't count in the NFL because the Giants almost fell into the trap that was the Texans. I wrote last week that there was no way that the Giants would take the Texans lightly and that they would cruise to an easy victory. My prediction of a blowout was questioned by some readers, but I defended my prediction with the argument of Coach Coughlin getting the boys ready to play. Well, in what has become a disturbing trend, I was wrong. The Giants played as if they expected the Texans to roll over and hand them the win. It sure looked like the Bears were on the players' minds, and frankly I think they were lucky to escape with the win. The one positive I see was that the Giants again showed their ability to engineer a fourth-quarter comeback. The resolve this team has shown this season is impressive, and a win is a win.

A few other musings about this weekend:

Good:

• Tiki Barber scores: Tiki leads the NFL in rushing at the midway point of the season, but it took him eight weeks to finally get in the end zone. The main reason it took Tiki so long is Brandon Jacobs (who gets most of the carries in short yardage situations). It would be nice to see Tiki get a few more touchdowns this season and make a late run at the MVP award (although at this point, that is a long shot). Also, Tiki caught three passes for 40 yards, giving him exactly 5,000 yards receiving for his career. Barber is just the third player in NFL history with at least 9,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards, and of the other two (Marcus Allen and Marshall Faulk), one is in the Hall of Fame and the other surely will be. It will be interesting to see how Tiki is reviewed in that discussion in a few years.
• Gerris Wilkinson: The rookie linebacker played well in his first NFL start, including forcing a fumble on the Texans final drive. Wilkinson put a hard hit on the Texans fullback which forced the fumble and saved the Giants as the Texans were driving late in the fourth quarter. Wilkinson will need to continue to play well for the Giants to be successful this season.

Bad:

• Mario Williams: Williams was a major force yesterday, as he terrorized Bob Whitfield (and his crazy eyes). However, after his first sack, Williams decided to take a jump shot to celebrate. When asked about it afterwards, Williams said, "I didn't know it was a patented move for the Giants. I apologize. We almost got into a fight on the field. I didn't know that a jump shot was a patented move for a football player." While I doubt that Williams was unaware that he was antagonizing the Giants, he did manage to light a fire under the Giants players. They needed something to fire them up, and the rookie provided it. Thanks, Mario!

Ugly:

• Injuries: It's scary to me that the injury bug has hit the Giants so hard. This season had a much more promising outlook a few weeks ago. This Sunday Plaxico Burress was held out with back spasms, and Michael Strahan hurt his foot (x-rays were negative, but he will be out 2-4 weeks). Add those two injuries to Umenyiora, Tuck, Arrington, Madison, Short and Moss, and the Giants injury squad includes four former Pro Bowlers and some quality role players. Let's hope that the Giants are able to continue to overcome these injuries. It would be a shame for this season to go down the tubes because the Giants weren't healthy.

While the Giants were lucky to get by the Texans on their way to next Sunday night's showdown with the Bears, the Bears fell to the Dolphins, as perhaps they looked ahead to the Giants. The Bears have looked very beatable the last few weeks, and the Dolphins showed that if you put pressure on Rex Grossman he will likely make mistakes. I'll have more about that game later this week. Have a nice week.

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