The Green Bay Packers won a back-and-forth showdown with the Houston Texans on Sunday at Lambeau Field, using three touchdown passes from Jordan Love, four sacks of C.J. Stroud and a game-winning field goal from new kicker Brandon McManus to escape with a 24-22 victory.
After falling behind 22-21 late, Love led a 44-yard drive to set up McManus — who signed on Wednesday — for a 45-yarder with three seconds left. Even after a timeout negated his first attempt and a poor snap on his second, McManus made the game-winner as time expired.
Here is an instant analysis of the Packers’ win over the Texans in Week 7:
Final score: Packers 24, Texans 22
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| HOU (5-2) | 3 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 22 |
| GB (5-2) | 0 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
Live scoring
First quarter
HOU 3, GB 0: Ka’imi Fairbairn 23-yard field goal (11:48)
Second quarter
GB 7, HOU 3: Tucker Kraft 14-yard catch (13:16)
HOU 10, GB 7: Joe Mixon 2-yard run (11:52)
GB 14, HOU 10: Dontayvion Wicks 30-yard catch (8:51)
GB 14, HOU 13: Ka’imi Fairbairn 52-yard field goal (4:30)
HOU 19, GB 14: Joe Mixon 4-yard run (1:13)
Third quarter
GB 21, HOU 19: Josh Jacobs 8-yard catch (7:25)
Fourth quarter
HOU 22, GB 21: Ka’imi Fairbairn 35-yard field goal (1:44)
GB 24, HOU 22: Brandon McManus 45-yard field goal (0:00)
It was over when…
… Daniel Whelan got down the hold and Brandon McManus snuck his kick inside the left upright as time expired, giving the Packers a dramatic 24-22 win over the Texans.
Game balls
Offense — WR Romeo Doubs/QB Jordan Love: Love gets a game ball for delivering a game-winning drive and making a handful of special throws. Doubs, meanwhile, caught eight passes for 94 yards, including a pair of catches on the final drive.
Defense — LB Eric Wilson: The veteran linebacker delivered two sacks, four tackles for loss and a pass breakup. His production helped the Packers limit the Texans to 55 net passing yards.
Special teams — K Brandon McManus/P Daniel Whelan: McManus gets a game ball for a game-winner in his first appearance as a Packer. Whelan gets one for five field-flipping punts, including three over 60 yards, and a great final hold on the game-winning kick.
Key stat
55: The Texans finished with 55 net passing yards. C.J. Stroud completed only 10 of 21 passes, and the Packers sacked him four times for -31 yards. Stroud found only six completions to wide receivers and finished with one completion over 20 yards.
Deciding factor
Overwhelming offensive depth: On one touchdown drive in the first half, seven different players touched the ball in a meaningful way. On the game-winning drive, Love connected with three different targets. Three different players caught a touchdown pass, and Josh Jacobs produced three explosive runs. It wasn’t always pretty, but when the Packers needed plays in big spots, the sheer number of playmakers helped Matt LaFleur’s team find them.
Jordan Love watch
Sunday was a rollercoaster experience for Jordan Love and the Packers offense. Love threw sublime touchdown passes to Tucker Kraft and Dontayvion Wicks in the first half, extending his streak with two or more passing touchdowns in a game to 11, including the postseason. He also led a terrific go-ahead touchdown drive to start the second half, and he masterfully executed the two-minute drill late to set up the game-winning field goal. That’s all high-level stuff. Love also threw two picks, including one on a terrible throw targeting Christian Watson, and the Packers offense stalled too often against a defense missing five starters. Still, Love completed 24 of 33 passes, threw three touchdown passes and won the game late.
Play of the game
Love’s first touchdown pass was a thing of beauty. He rifled the ball into a small window, and Tucker Kraft made an incredible diving catch to haul in the 14-yard score on third down.
What a catch by Tucker Kraft for the TD!
📺: #HOUvsGB on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/5cpzRJLlEj— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2024
Injury updates
Linebacker Quay Walker exited the game with a concussion and did not return. He will need to go through the league’s concussion protocol before he returns to the field.
What’s next
The Packers will go to Jacksonville to play the Jaguars, who are coming back from a two-week trip in London. Doug Pederson’s team beat the New England Patriots earlier Sunday to improve to 2-5. A week earlier, the Chicago Bears cruised past the Jaguars.
