GREEN BAY – A 45-yard field goal on the final play allowed the Packers to beat the Texans, 24-22, on Sunday at Lambeau Field as the home team sported its "Winter Warning" all-white helmets and uniforms.
Here are five takeaways from the last-second triumph that boosted Green Bay's record to 5-2:
- The new kicker did what he was brought here to do.
Veteran Brandon McManus an 11-year pro signed mid-week to replace struggling rookie kicker Brayden Narveson, had kicked three extra points on the day but no field goals when the Packers called on him with three seconds to go, trailing by a point.
He ended up getting a practice kick, making it just after Houston called a timeout to ice him. Then he drilled the second one as well, allowing the Packers to salvage a rollercoaster day.
"He's a vet and you can see it," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said of his new kicker.
QB Jordan Love noted McManus had a confidence about him the day he arrived, despite some tough circumstances. In practice when he made field goals, he "just walks off like it's another walk in the park."
"He's been around for a while," Love said. "He's played a lot of ball, made a lot of big-time kicks, so I think that was no problem for him today."
- Punter Daniel Whelan proved his immense value to this team.
The snap on the field-goal try that counted wasn't the best, a low one that skimmed the grass. But Whelan got the hold down for McManus without issue.
"Really good job by him," LaFleur said. "That's all I was looking at, to be honest with you. I was like, 'Uh-oh.'"
Whelan also had a huge impact on field position, booming five punts for a 56.8-yard gross average (51.6 net). When the Packers went three-and-out three straight times in the second half, trying to protect a 21-19 lead, and the offense was punting from inside its own 15-yard line on all three, Whelan's punts forced the Texans to start the ensuing drives on their own 25-, 32- and 38-yard lines.
"To have a punter flip the field like that, it puts a lot of stress on the (opposing) offense," Love said. "When the defense is playing the way they were tonight, all those yards come up big time."
- The defensive effort was dynamite.
The 22 points the Texans scored don't speak to how well the Packers' defense played. Green Bay allowed Houston just 197 total yards, a 4-of-13 conversion rate on third downs, and a 58.8 passer rating for quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Dealing with an aggressive pass rush much of the game, Stroud threw for just 86 yards on 10-of-21 completions and was sacked four times for minus-31 yards. Running back Joe Mixon (25 carries, 115 yards, two TDs) was the lone offensive player who gave the Packers trouble.
"The defense played phenomenal," Love said. "The rush package that we had out there was doing a great job of getting home."
Added LaFleur, who awarded a game ball to new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley (as well as Whelan and McManus) after the game: "We did not allow C.J. to get comfortable. He is a real guy in this league and he's going to be for a really long time.
"We just put immense pressure on him. That's what it looked like to me."
The Texans were gifted 10 points by two early giveaways, an interception and botched punt return, with both Houston possessions starting on the Green Bay 11-yard line. The defense held the Texans to a field goal on the first one. The Packers also stopped the Texans in the red zone just after the two-minute warning down the stretch, so Green Bay's deficit was just one point with 1:44 left.
Two other times, the Texans were within or on the edge of field-goal range and got knocked backwards by third-down sacks, Quay Walker (concussion).
Shifting back to full-time duty, Eric Wilson finished with two sacks and four total tackles for loss in a standout performance.
"He is the consummate pro in terms of always knowing what to do and then being able to when called upon go out there and deliver," LaFleur said of Wilson. "I'm really proud of him. We're lucky to have a guy like that on our team."
- The ups and downs on offense carried all the way to the end.
Love threw three touchdown passes, including two pinpoint throws to tight end Tucker Kraft and receiver Dontayvion Wicks. Plus he found running back Josh Jacobs for his first career receiving TD.
But two interceptions were no doubt damaging, as were the three straight three-and-outs deep in Green Bay territory in the second half when one good drive could've given the Packers some breathing room. Love also was sacked three times while throwing for 220 yards (95.5 rating).
Ultimately it came down to delivering in the clutch, after the Texans had driven 45 yards in 6½ minutes for a field goal to take a 22-21 lead.
From his own 30, Love completed 4-of-7 for 39 yards, putting the rough moments from the day behind him to execute when it was needed most.
"I just talked to him about it – that's his superpower," LaFleur said. "No matter what's happened, whether it's good or bad, he continues to fight and be resilient. The moment's never too big for him."
- In the end, this felt like an escape from what almost was an immensely frustrating defeat.
"Wow, what a game," LaFleur said, later adding, "We'll never apologize for winning."
Only one other time in LaFleur's tenure have the Packers won with a minus-3 turnover margin, back in his first season in 2019 vs. Detroit.
A lot went wrong, just enough went right, and at 5-2 the Packers sit just one-half game behind NFC North co-leaders Detroit and Minnesota, who are both 5-1 after the Lions beat the Vikings on Sunday.
"It's a team win," Love said. "It's a four-quarter battle. It wasn't perfect, definitely was not perfect. But we found a way to win, and that's what it's all about.
"That's what it comes down to, the fourth quarter and finding a way, and that's what we did."
