New York Giants: Two Key Players Out For Houston Game

Sep 24, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Giants cornerback Eli Apple (24) recovers a fumble against the Philadelphia Eagles during the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants head into week three with their backs to the wall, after two straight losses to open the season. They head to Houston tomorrow for an afternoon game against the Texans, but they’ll have to do it without two of their defensive starters. Not only that, but these players are at two of the positions that the Giants need the most: pass rusher, and cornerback.

These players are Olivier Vernon and Eli Apple, and both will be greatly missed in a game where the Texans are favored to both win and cover the spread. Vernon has a high ankle sprain, an injury that has been with him since before the start of the season. On the other hand, Apple was only injured recently in the last game against the Dallas Cowboys. Apple’s injury is related to the groin, and took him out of the game.

The Giants depth chart will look a bit different with both players out for this game. The loss of Apple will be the more notable one, with Apple serving as one of the team’s top corners next to Janoris Jenkins. His injury comes at a bad time, right after his revitalization helped to stop the bleeding at the cornerback position. In his absence, we should see Dante Deayon playing a bigger role.

Vernon, on the other hand, hasn’t played a game this season and won’t make his first appearance this week against Houston despite having some pressure from parts of the fanbase to play. His presence as a pass rusher should make a big impact for the Giants when he’s healthy again, but that will be another time.

For now, the Giants will have to continue to make do with rookie B.J. Hill starting on the defensive line, in a setup that’s been surprisingly good considering the circumstances. Will the current group of players, without Apple and Vernon, be enough to avoid an 0-3 start? We’ll see tomorrow, but the pass rush won’t gain any new help for this game and the secondary is suffering a loss at a pretty inconvenient time.