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HOUSTON (AP) — After coming up just short in their first two games T.Y. Hilton Jersey , the New York Giants figured out a way to finish a game on Sunday against the Houston Texans and get their first win.

“We’ve become an almost team,” quarterback Eli Manning said. “We’ve been close on a few things and (Sunday) we put it together.”

Manning threw for 297 yards and two touchdowns and rookie Saquon Barkley added a score as the Giants (1-2) got a 27-22 victory over the struggling Houston Texans.

New York had lost its first two games by 12 points combined before building a 20-6 lead by halftime and adding a touchdown late on Sunday to outlast the winless Texans.

“This was just a different ride,” Barkley said. “Coach challenged us to come out with a great start and that’s something we really focused on. Obviously, we’ve got to play a little better in the second half. But it’s the NFL, and they’re not just going to let you run up the score on them.”

The Giants got another good game from Barkley, who was the second overall pick in this year’s draft. The Texans led 3-0 after a 23-yard field goal by Ka’imi Fairbairn on their first drive. The Giants took their first lead this season when Barkley shed multiple tackles on a 15-yard run that made it 7-3.

Barkley has 46 carries for 216 yards and two touchdowns and 21 catches for 137 yards this season. His presence has given the Giants another explosive playmaker to pair with star receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

The Giants were certainly happy to get in the win column on Sunday, but know they have a lot of work to do if they hope to have a successful season.

“We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves because it’s just one game,” Beckham said. “Now we have to start tacking it on, build off this and keep improving.”

Some things to know about New York’s win over Houston.

RUNNING GAME WOES

After leading the NFL in yards rushing through the first three games, the Texans couldn’t get anything going on the ground. They finished with 59 yards rushing, and Lamar Miller managed just 10 yards on as many carries.

“They loaded up the box,” coach Bill O’Brien said. “They did a good job. We tried a bunch of different schemes — basically abandoned it in the second half … tried to do other things. Just never could get it going.”

MISUNDERSTANDING?

Giants receiver Sterling Shepard received a taunting penalty in the second quarter after jawing with Houston cornerback Aaron Colvin. But Shepard insists it wasn’t malicious and that he and Colvin are friends and were simply messing with each other.

“That’s one of my boys from college,” Shepard said. “We go way back. He was at my wedding Authentic Odell Beckham Jr Jersey , I was at his wedding. We had been talking a little mess before the game … we were just going back and forth. It was all in love, but the officials don’t know that.”

The two played in college together at Oklahoma.

STRONG CONNECTION

Houston receiver Will Fuller had five receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown. He’s played in six career games with Watson and has nine touchdowns in those games. He’s had at least one TD grab in each game he’s played with Watson.

He had 113 yards and a score last week to make him the first Texan to have consecutive 100-yard receiving games since he did it in the first two weeks of the 2016 season.

INJURY UPDATE

New York tight end Evan Engram (knee) left in the second quarter. … Giants CB Antonio Hamilton injured his groin in the first quarter and didn’t return. … Houston WR Bruce Ellington injured his hamstring in the first quarter and didn’t return. … Texans G Senio Kelemete (knee) left in the second quarter.

Miles Bridges‘ versatility convinced Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak to take a chance on him in the first round.

Bridges is thrilled he did.

The Hornets wound up with the Michigan State wingman in the first round of the NBA draft after trading down one spot with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Charlotte initially selected point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from Kentucky with the 11th overall pick, but traded him to the Clippers for the 12th overall pick and second-round picks in 2020 and 2021. The Clippers then selected Bridges for the Hornets.

”He’s one of the highest character players in the draft, very athletic, plays hard and he’s very versatile,” Kupchak said. ”… There is not much to not like about Miles Bridges.”

Charlotte later traded up to No. 34 overall with Atlanta to draft Kansas point guard Devonte Graham, a consensus All-American who averaged 17.3 points and 7.2 assists per game last season. Graham, who is from Raleigh, North Carolina, is expected to backup two-time All-Star Kemba Walker, providing the team doesn’t trade him. The Hornets surrendered second round picks in 2019 and 2023 to get him.

Charlotte initially took shooting guard Hamiduo Diallo from Kentucky at No. 45 as part of the impending trade that will send Dwight Howard to the Brooklyn Nets, but then sent his rights to Oklahoma City.

The Hornets drafted Arnoldas Kulboka from Lithunia at No. 55.

Kupchak said Bridges can play both the three and four position on offense at the NBA level just as he did at Michigan State, and also has the size and athleticism to guard four positions on defense.

The 6-foot-7 Youth Chad Thomas Jersey , 225-pound Bridges was a unanimous All Big 10 first team choice after averaging 17 points and seven rebounds last season for the Spartans. He ranked sixth in the Big Ten in scoring last season, 11th in rebounding and fourth in free throw percentage (85.3 percent).

Bridges is expected to be a better offensive option at small forward than starter Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who is considered a strong defender but not a great scorer. Bridges has an NBA ready body and is one of the most explosive leapers in the draft. He scored frequently on perimeter spot ups and off screens while with the Spartans as well as on pick and roll opportunities.

”I want to get better at ball handling so I can create my own shot and just be a threat everywhere on the floor from the 3 to mid-range to getting to the basket,” Bridges said. ”I definitely want to be more aggressive. I felt like in my college career I could have been more aggressive.”

Bridges did not work out for the Hornets despite the team’s repeated attempts to bring him in. Bridges said he had planned to visit after working out in Los Angeles, but ”something popped up.”

Some Hornets fans on social media were upset over the team’s decision to pass on Michael Porter Jr., who went two picks later to the Denver Nuggets.

Kupchak said the team had talked extensively about Porter in the weeks leading up the draft but decided to ”move in a different direction” after he cancelled the playing portion of his scheduled workout in Chicago.

Kupchak is off to a busy start as Hornets general manager.

His decision to trade down comes one day after agreeing to trade Howard, an eight-time All-Star center, to the Brooklyn for center Timofey Mozgov and two second-round draft picks, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the league cannot approve the deal until the trade moratorium ends on July 6.

The 32-year-old Howard was due to make $23.8 million in the final year of his contract next season.

The Hornets failed to make the playoffs last season for the third time in four seasons, prompting owner Michael Jordan to part ways with general manager Rich Cho and coach Steve Clifford.

Kupchak hired James Borrego as the team’s new head coach in May.

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AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.

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