Can Odell Beckham be Giants focal point in Week 3?

The New York Giants offense struggled mightily in Week 2, as Mike Shula’s unit failed to muster more than 15 points for a second straight game.

With Odell Beckham Jr., Eli Manning, Sterling Shepard and No. 2 overall pick Saquon Barkley, the New York Giants offense is expected to improve after scoring the second-lowest points in the 2017 NFL regular season.

Through two weeks in 2018, it’s been the same old story for the Giants, as they have averaged 14 points per game against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Dallas Cowboys.

An important matchup awaits the Giants in Week 3, as they must take on a Houston Texans team that has potential on both sides of the ball. Like the Giants, the Texans are 0-2, so this is a winnable game for New York.

In order to right the ship offensively, the Giants must find a way to use both Barkley and Beckham effectively, instead of just focusing on one or the other. Per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, Giants offensive coordinator Mike Shula would like to get Beckham “involved early.” Last week against Dallas, Beckham seemed like an afterthought in the passing game, whereas Barkley caught 14 passes from the running back position.

That will be easier said than done against the Texans defense. Because while the Texans are 0-2 and have their own concerns, their pass defense has been a bright spot through two weeks. Granted, they faced a soft Week 2 matchup against Blaine Gabbert, holding second-year pro Corey Davis to just 55 yards on five receptions and an adjusting Rishard Matthews to under 10 receiving yards.

The Texans had far less luck with Tom Brady, who threw three touchdowns and made great usage of tight end Rob Gronkowski. But he struggled to hit top receiver Chris Hogan, who could only haul in one catch for 11 yards on five targets.

Houston has its weaknesses against tight ends, but they have one of the league’s most talented secondaries on paper. With Johnathan Joseph, Aaron Colvin, Kayvon Webster, Kareem Jackson and Tyrann Mathieu in the defensive backfield, the Texans can make like difficult for wide receivers, just as they have done through the first two weeks of the regular season.

If the Giants are serious about getting Odell Beckham involved in Week 3, then they will need to trust his talent and specifically gameplan for him to succeed against a Houston pass defense that has more talent than the raw numbers may indicate.

The Giants offense is hamstrung by an abysmal offensive line, but it’s something Shula, Beckham, Eli and the rest of the people responsible for producing yardage must deal with. It’s not an excuse for Beckham only being involved in four receptions for 51 yards against a division rival, especially since the Giants can find ways to get Beckham involved even if the line gives him less time to get open further down the field.

Getting open vertically will be a tougher task against Houston, and it’s too early in the season to truly know just how good this secondary can be. But even though the Giants have played just two games, falling to 0-3 could damage this team’s hopes of being competitive in 2018, so it is critical for them to quickly figure out how to take full advantage of both Beckham and Barkley. The Texans are a great opponent for the Giants to solve this early season issue.