Breaking: Packers Beat Texans: Separating Facts From Hype
The Green Bay Packers probably didn’t deserve to beat the Houston Texans on Sunday. Losing in turnovers (3-0) and penalties (8-5) and giving up a 115-yard rushing game is usually a losing recipe.
But the Packers did what great teams do: They found a way to win. With Jordan Love delivering late and Jeff Hafley’s defense rising to the occasion, the Packers beat the Texans 24-22 for their third consecutive victory.
Here are this week’s Overreactions.
For Jordan Love, Enough Is Enough
The Packers can’t keep living this way. The starting quarterback can’t throw two interceptions and expect to beat a good team. Sure, the Texans are a good team and Love threw two interceptions and the Packers won.
But how about in, say, a Super Bowl rematch? On a neutral field? Against a Texans team not down four starters on defense and one of the most dangerous receivers in the NFL? Or in a couple weeks against the steamrolling Detroit Lions?
Can the Packers win that type of game with their gazillion-dollar quarterback throwing two interceptions? Can they win in overtime if a deflected pass is intercepted rather than resulting in an everybody-exhale incompletion?
“It’s the NFL. There’s not always going to be wide-open guys,” Love said. “It’s going to be tight windows, you’ve got to fit the ball in there sometimes, and I’m going to keep playing. Learn and grow from the mistakes, the interceptions, and just keep playing, keep moving on.
“That’s not going to ever limit me. I’ve got to keep going out there and being the best player I can for my team. I’m always going to be aggressive, but there’s always going to be those tight-window throws.”
Honestly, I like the bravado. Throwing interceptions is losing football. Playing conservatively is losing football, too.
There has to be a balancing act, though, between Love playing aggressively but not forcing passes downfield to a double-covered receiver, as was the case on his second interception. That was his eighth interception of the season, tied for the most in the NFL despite missing two games.
Smarter, not safer is probably the right way to view things. On the aforementioned play to Christian Watson, it was first down. Be smart. Throw it away and line up for second down. Trust the receivers to make a play to move the chains rather than trying to do it all through the air.
Love figured it out last year with an MVP-style second half of the season. There’s no reason to believe he won’t figure it out this year, too, but doing so will be up to Love and Love alone.
Enjoy Jeff Hafley While He’s Here
Coach Matt LaFleur’s track record hiring coordinators hasn’t been great. But it looks like he nailed it with defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.
I was as skeptical as anyone about the decision. His defense at Ohio State in 2019 was elite, but he had elite talent, too. His defenses at Boston College from 2020 through 2023 were bad, but BC will never have Ohio State-level talent.
More than anything, what did Hafley know about putting together an NFL defense designed to stop top NFL offenses and elite professional quarterbacks?
On Sunday, LaFleur awarded Hafley a game ball.
The Texans finished with 197 yards. C.J. Stroud, the reigning Rookie of the Year quarterback, threw for a career-low 86 yards. His 58.8 passer rating and 4.10 yards per attempt were the second-lowest of his career.
Sure, premier receiver Nico Collins is on injured reserve. He entered the day ranked No. 1 in the NFL in receiving yards even while missing the previous seven quarters. Stefon Diggs, who caught five passes for just 23 yards, no longer is an elite player. Tight end Dalton Schultz is a good player but doesn’t really move the needle.
Their recent receiver draft picks, Tank Dell (zero catches out of four targets in 46 snaps), John Metchie (zero targets in 23 snaps) and Xavier Hutchinson (one catch in 41 snaps), don’t belong in the same sentence as Green Bay’s young receivers.
Still, Hafley has a keen understanding of what is required to win a game. With Green Bay’s offense getting its “ass” kicked, to quote LaFleur, this was not going to be a bend-but-don’t-break type of day. It was a day to step on the gas and keep the Texans out of scoring position.
On third down, according to The 33rd Team, the Packers blitzed on 41.7 percent of Stroud’s dropbacks. Under pressure, Stroud was 3-of-10 for 14 yards.
“I can’t say enough great things about our defense, about the job that he and our staff put our guys in, and the aggressive mindset,” LaFleur said. “You could tell that going into this we did not allow C.J. to get comfortable. I think C.J., he is a real guy in this league and he’s going to be for a really long time.
“Just to apply that pressure on him and, obviously, overcoming some very bad circumstances throughout the course of the game in terms of sudden-change opportunities where our defense was backed up. Hafley does an outstanding job and so does the rest of our staff.”
Hafley seems well-liked by his players. He is a strong communicator. He’s got head coaching experience.
If Green Bay’s defense continues to build – and there’s no reason to believe Sunday’s performance was its peak – then Hafley is going to be a head-coach candidate after this season or next season.
