The Green Bay Packers are welcoming the AFC South-leading Houston Texans to Lambeau Field for a highly anticipated matchup between ascending quarterbacks Jordan Love and C.J. Stroud and top coaches Matt LaFleur and DeMeco Ryans on Sunday.
Can the Packers create their first three-game win streak of the season by snapping the Texans’ own three-game win streak?
The Packers and Texans were trendy Super Bowl picks before the 2024 season, and nothing about the first six weeks suggests either team isn’t a contender. Expect Sunday to be a heavyweight fight between two terrific teams.
Here are five keys to the Packers beating the Texans in Week 7:
Play-action passing game
Jordan Love’s production off play-action could be a deciding factor on Sunday. Love has thrown four touchdown passes with a 132.1 passer rating off play-action plays this season, while the Texans defense has allowed five touchdown passes and a passer rating of 126.4 against play-action passes, per Next Gen Stats. Last week, the Packers stung the Cardinals with a 44-yard touchdown pass to Christian Watson off play-action. Can Matt LaFleur dial up a few big play opportunities for Love using the run action on Sunday? The Texans will be down two starters in the secondary, putting more pressure on the coverage group. Watson’s speed against a defense that prefers single-high safety coverages could be huge.
Running the red zone
The Texans are No. 1 in the NFL in scoring touchdowns in the red zone (12-of-16, 75 percent) on offense but 28th in allowing touchdowns in the red zone (11-of-16, 68.8 percent) on defense. Can the Packers defense get a stop or two inside the 20 against C.J. Stroud, who has an NFL-high eight touchdown passes inside the 10-yard line this season? And can Jordan Love, who threw three touchdown passes from the 20-yard line or in on third down last week, keep it rolling in the scoring area against a struggling red-zone defense? In a matchup of terrific quarterback-running back combos on both sides, the winner in the red zone could prove decisive. Love and Josh Jacobs must be more productive than Stroud and Joe Mixon in the scoring area.
Takeaways
The Packers have multiple takeaways in all six games this season, but Sunday’s visit from the Texans might be the biggest takeaway challenge of the season. C.J. Stroud has thrown only nine interceptions across over 700 career attempts and is excellent against pressure. Can the Packers find ways of getting their hands on the ball this week? Last week, the Texans defense came alive in the turnover department, creating four takeaways against rookie Drake Maye and the Patriots. The Texans haven’t been a big takeaway team this season — only seven in six games, with three zero-takeaway games — so the Packers should have a chance to win the ball on Sunday. Overall, the Texans are 3-0 when winning the turnover battle this season.
Offensive tackle spotlight
Packers offensive tackle duo Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom have a big challenge waiting for them on Sunday. Will Anderson Jr. and former Viking Danielle Hunter are one of the best edge rusher tandems in football. Both are athletic and relentless. They’ve combined for 50 pressures in six games. Can the Packers avoid obvious passing situations and protect Walker and Tom? This is not a game where the Packers want to be facing third-and-long. Anderson and Hunter can wreck the game. But let’s not sell Walker and Tom short here either. Tom has allowed only six pressures and ranks 11th among offensive tackles in pass-blocking grade at PFF, while Walker has allowed only one sack and ranks 13th. This is an excellent matchup.
No lost points
The Packers can’t afford to throw away any points on Sunday. This ties into production in the red zone, but also directly points to the kicker situation. Brayden Narveson missed five kicks between 35 and 49 yards, so the Packers made a change. Up next on the kicker carousel is veteran Brandon McManus, who has a big leg and is excellent from inside 50 yards. He hasn’t kicked since last year after being released in June, so it’s fair to wonder if McManus will be a little rusty in his first live kicking appearance of 2024. The Packers need perfection from the kicking game on Sunday.