Good teams don't have to be perfect to still be considered good teams, and that was on full display when the Green Bay Packers and Houston Texans took the field on Sunday. While the Packers took home the 24-22 win with a last-second field goal by the recently signed Brandon McManus, neither team actually looked great, and the chippy game felt closer to a draw.
"It wasn't perfect," said Packers quarterback Jordan Love. "It definitely was not perfect. A lot of mistakes. But we found a way to win."
However, both young quarterbacks showed just enough, along with some other strong performances from the players around them, to the point where each team's fan base should feel like their team still has a chance to compete in January and beyond.
Love had a classic game where he looked equal parts Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, channeling their energy into a couple incredible throws that led to scores and two rough interceptions. The Packers defense provided enough support to where they were able to survive the interceptions, but it wasn’t the cleanest game from Love.
"A quarterback's No. 1 job is to take care of the football, but I also don't think, especially today, we put him in the best positions to throw the football," Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said.
Still, he had enough high-upside plays where it's easy to see why the Packers are still considered a title contender in the NFC. They have a big-time quarterback and they were able to run the ball today.
Josh Jacobs has provided a dynamic to the Packers that they just didn’t have a year ago. Jacobs averaged 0.10 expected points added per rush and picked up a first down on 25% of his carries, according to data provided by TruMedia. Being able to move the ball on the ground with efficiency has been crucial for their ability to stay afloat in moments like today where Love is being a bit reckless with the ball.
Ground game and defense with a few explosives through the air is still a winning strategy in the NFL. They were able to pressure C.J. Stroud on 51.7% of his dropbacks and all of that combined was just enough to get the Packers a win over the Texans.
"To hold a good team like that to 22 points, considering a couple of those drives started deep in our own territory, give (defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley) a game ball for that defensive performance," LaFleur said.
Houston finally had a game where C.J. Stroud really struggled, but this time they were able to run the ball with a bit more ease than usual. Joe Mixon was incredibly effective, rushing for 115 yards, two touchdowns and a few clutch carries in the second half to give the Texans a chance at the end of the game.
This was the first game where Stroud couldn’t really overcome some of the struggles that his pass protection gave him. He was under siege all game and really struggled to get into a rhythm. As a result, he only managed 86 yards through the air and 55 net passing yards. The one game where the running game showed up, Stroud had arguably his worst game as a professional quarterback from a production standpoint.
"We just couldn't find our rhythm," Stroud said.
The good thing is that it’s unlikely that Stroud will ever play that poorly again. Even in adverse situations, like the one the Texans’ offensive line has consistently provided, Stroud has been able to keep his head above water and be force of elite quarterback play.
If the run game can perform well again moving forward, the Texans will finally have an offense complete enough to actually be as stable as people projected them to be coming into the season. The offensive line is still a concern, but today was progress from a run game standpoint.
Both of these teams are flawed, but they’re still quality teams that can go on a run if things break right for him. Someone has to lose a fight between heavyweights, this round just happened to go to the Packers.
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