The Green Bay Packers got a 45-yard field goal from newcomer Brandon McManus as time expired to defeat the Houston Texans 24-22 at Lambeau Field. Jordan Love threw for 220 yards and three touchdown passes while the Green Bay defense recorded four sacks and held Houston to just 197 net yards in the victory. The win improved the Packers record to 5-2 while the Texans fell to 5-2. Here are 10 things we learned in the Packers 24-22 win over the Texans in Week 7:
Ten Things We Learned from the Packers Win Over the Texans, Number One: The New Kicker Came Through in the Clutch
This was the first game for McManus who took over midweek for Braydon Narveson as the Packers kicker. He was put to the test immediately as he needed to kick a 45-yard field goal on the game’s final play to win. He came through despite not having kicked in an NFL game since January 7th of this year when he kicked for Jacksonville.
The Packers were looking for a kicker who would be extremely accurate from inside 50 yards. McManus made his only field goal try of the game and all three extra points. He came through in the clutch with the game on the line to make a good first impression on the field.
Number Two: The Pass Rush Was Strong
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley had a great game plan to get pressure on Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud. The defense recorded four sacks in the game and had seven quarterback hits. Stroud was never able to get comfortable in the pocket and completed only 10-of-21 passes for 86 yards all game.
Rashan Gary had his first sack since Week 1 and three quarterback hits. He was a constant presence in the Houston backfield. Eric Wilson added two sacks and two quarterback hits. Safety Xavier McKinney recorded the other sack for the Packers on a safety blitz.
Hafley mixed his blitzes and rush combinations and relied on a lot of stunts that had Gary rushing to the inside.
The pass rush didn’t create any turnovers, but they stopped the usually explosive Houston passing attack from getting untracked and was a big reason for the team’s eventual win.
Ten Things We Learned from the Packers Win Over the Texans, Number Three: Jordan Love was Feast or Famine
Love continues to make some great plays that take your breath away and to make some mistakes that make fans shake their heads. He threw two interceptions in this game and both passes were thrown into double coverage. They were simply poor decisions by Love.
He also made some great throws including a pinpoint touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft and 30-yard touchdown toss to Dontayvion Wicks.
Love finished the game by completing 24-of-33 passes for 220 yards and three scores to go along with the two picks.
Most importantly, he led the Packers on an eight-play, 44-yard drive that led to the game-winning field goal.
Number Four: Josh Jacobs Ended a Record-Breaking Drought
Josh Jacobs only carried the ball 12 times, but he did gain 76 yards for a 6.3-yard average. His long run in the game was 27 yards. Jacobs frequently made people miss and gained more yards than expected when he carried the ball.
The former Raiders star also caught five passes for 16 yards and his first career NFL receiving touchdown. The touchdown catch was Jacobs’ 212th career NFL catch. He now holds the record for most catches in a career without a touchdown. At least that slump is over, and Jacobs need not worry about the record being extended each time he makes a catch.
Ten Things We Learned from the Packers Win Over the Texans, Number Five: Romeo Doubs Shined
The Packers receiving corps remains deep and talented. Each week, a different player becomes the focal point of the passing attack depending on the matchups. This week, that player was Romeo Doubs.
The former Nevada star caught eight passes for 94 yards to lead the Packers in both of those categories. No other player had more than five catches and no other wide receiver had more than three.
Doubs came up with big plays, picking up key first downs when the Packers needed them most. He has now played two strong games since returning from his one game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.
Number Six: The Packers Contained Stefon Diggs
Before the game even started, Texans wide receiver Stefon Diggs was jawing with Jaire Alexander and the two familiar foes had to be separated by coaches and teammates.
Once the game started, Stroud looked for Diggs more than any other player. Diggs was targeted seven times, and he led Houston with five catches. But Diggs gained only 23 yards on those five grabs for a 4.6-yard average per catch.
His longest catch was 17 yards meaning his other four catches went for a total of six yards.
Between the pressure being put on Stroud and the strong coverage by Alexander and the rest of the Green Bay secondary, Diggs was a non-factor in this game.
Ten Things We Learned from the Packers Win Over the Texans, Number Seven: The Run Defense Couldn’t Stop Joe Mixon
While the Packers pass defense had a strong game, the run defense had no answer for Joe Mixon. Mixon ran the ball 25 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns.
Mixon had holes to run through and the Packers tackling was inconsistent.
The best defense against Mixon came when a fan prevented him from doing a Lambeau Leap after one of his touchdowns. The fan was ejected from the game for being too physical with Mixon.
For the game, the Texans gained 142 yards on 33 carries for a healthy 4.3-yard average. Mixon became the fourth player to gain more than 100 yards rushing against the Packers in seven games this season.
Number Eight: Mistakes Hurt on Special Teams
The Packers special teams made their share of mistakes. The biggest was a muffed punt return that bounced off Corey Ballentine and was recovered by Houston.
Jayden Reed also fielded a punt inside his own five and the Packers started the ensuing drive at their own four.
The Packers also allowed a 42-yard kick return on a play where they missed some tackles that could have stopped Houston inside the 30.
On the winning field goal, the snap wasn’t great, but holder Daniel Whelan got the ball down in time for the kick to be good.
Rich Bisaccia still has work to do to clean things up on special teams.
Ten Things We Learned from the Packers Win Over the Texans, Number Nine: The End Arounds Didn’t Work
The Packers running game has been supplemented all season by end arounds, jet sweeps and reverses. Matt LaFleur ran these plays to keep the threat of the outside run going since all three running backs on the roster are better running between the tackles.
In this game, the outside runs didn’t work well. Reed was stopped for no gain; Bo Melton lost a yard and Christian Watson lost four yards on his running play.
The Houston defense seemed ready for these play calls, and they were able to stop them. We’ll see how LaFleur adjusts in his next game as the chess match between offenses and defenses continues.
Number Ten: The Packers Passed the Test
This was a litmus test game for the Packers, going up against a 5-1 team with Super Bowl aspirations of their own. The Pack won their third straight game with a clutch performance.
The Packers made mistakes but were still able to overcome them and found a way to win. This is something they can build on as we get closer to the tougher part of the schedule in the second half of the season.
This article first appeared on The Packers Post and was syndicated with permission.
