After Stopping Josh Allen, Texans Prep for ‘Best Quarterback,’ Jordan Love

The Green Bay Packers and Houston Texans will engage in a heavyweight showdown on Sunday at Lambeau Field. Jordan Love will attack perhaps the best pass defense in the NFL.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans had high praise for Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love ahead of Sunday’s showdown at Lambeau Field.

“Going against Jordan Love this week, it will be the best quarterback we’ve seen this year,” Ryans told reporters in Houston on Monday.

The Texans are 5-1, featuring the winning combination of an elite quarterback and a strong defense. The Packers are 4-2, with Love coming off his best game of the season while shredding the Cardinals on Sunday.

Ryans’ defense has faced a motley crew of quarterbacks this season, other than dominating a perennial NFL MVP contender a couple weeks ago.

Week 1: Indianapolis Colts

Anthony Richardson went 9-of-19 for 212 yards with two touchdowns, one interception and a 101.2 passer rating. The Texans gave up a late touchdown but ran out the final 2:14 to win 29-27.

Richardson’s season passer rating is 60.2, which would rank last in the league if he had enough attempts.

Week 2: Chicago Bears

Caleb Williams went 23-of-37 for 174 yards with zero touchdowns, two interceptions and a 51.0 passer rating. The Texans won 19-13 by sacking Williams seven times.

After a slow start, the No. 1 pick of the draft has reeled off three consecutive games of 100-plus passer ratings to get his season mark to a 20th-ranked 88.7.

Week 3: Minnesota Vikings

Sam Darnold went 17-of-28 for 181 yards with four touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 119.2 rating. The Vikings won 34-7.

Darnold is seventh in the NFL with a 103.4 rating.

Week 4: Jacksonville Jaguars

Trevor Lawrence went 18-of-33 for 169 yards with two touchdowns, zero interceptions and an 89.1 rating. The Texans won 24-20 on a last-second touchdown.

Lawrence’s season passer rating of 89.2 ranks 18th.

Week 5: Buffalo Bills

Josh Allen went 9-of-30 for 131 yards with one touchdown, zero interceptions and a 56.4 rating. Yes, 9-for-30, including 0-for-8 in the fourth quarter. Houston won 23-20 on a 59-yard field goal as time expired.

He is fifth in the NFL with a 106.8 rating on the strength of 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Week 6: New England Patriots

First-round pick Drake Maye went 20-of-33 for 243 yards with three touchdowns, two interceptions and an 88.3 rating in his first career start. Houston rolled 41-21.

“For our defense this week, we have to play our defense the right way,” Ryans said. “I’m not proud of everything that we put on tape yesterday. We allowed a lot of plays to happen because of busts and mistakes that were self-inflicted. So, for us defensively, it’s not a matter of the Packers. It’s all about us and playing defense the right way and then we’ll see what happens.”

Overall, the Texans are 10th with an opponent passer rating of 82.9. However, they are first in opponent completion percentage (53.3), fourth in yards allowed per attempt (5.44) and fourth in sack percentage (10.58).

Having put Sunday’s game to bed, Packers coach Matt LaFleur was just diving into the Texans but has been impressed by what he’s seen. Will Anderson is fifth in the NFL with 5.5 sacks, and Danielle Hunter (eighth) and Anderson (18th) are in the top 20 in PFF’s pass-rush win rate. Derek Stingley is one of the best corners in the league.

“Defensively, what strikes me is their style of play, how hard and fast they get off the ball,” Lafleur said. “Will Anderson, he’s a force. They’ve got Hunter there now, but collectively as a unit, I think the whole D-line does a great job.

“Just looking at the numbers, one of the top-ranked defenses in the league right now. I think they’re top five in most of the categories, so it will be a great challenge for us.”

While Houston’s faced only one top quarterback, the Packers have faced only one top pass defense. The Vikings are No. 1 in opponent passer rating; the Rams are 32nd, the Cardinals are 28th, the Colts are 25th and the Eagles are 20th.

Ryans sees a challenge from his perspective.

“It’ll be a really, really tough matchup, really good team,” Ryans said. “Green Bay has done a great job this year. They’re explosive on offense. And they pose a lot of challenges not only with Love, but the guys he’s getting the ball to.

“Jayden Reed has done a great job. They do a good job moving him all around, whether he’s getting the ball in the backfield or in the passing game. It’s just an explosive offense. They run the ball well with (Josh) Jacobs. Just a well-coached team. So, we have our hands full, just as all weeks. But it’ll be a really big-time matchup for us, and I know our guys are excited about it.”

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Are the #Packers playing in the best division in NFL history? Little too soon to say, obviously, but the numbers are pretty incredible through Week 6.

Thanks to @FrontOfficeNFL for some historical context.https://t.co/ZDVOs7TPbW

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 14, 2024

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