Overreactions From Packers’ Victory Over Texans

Enjoy Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley while he’s here. If his defense continues to play like it did against the Texans, how long until he becomes an NFL head coach?

Green Bay Packers linebacker Eric Wilson (45) and cornerback Jaire Alexander (23) celebrate a stop against the Houston Texans, / William Glasheen/Appleton Post-Crescent via the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – 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.

ICYMI: walking through the walk-off win with the 3 wisest men ⁦@RobDemovsky ⁦@BillHuberNFL ⁦@jasonjwilde⁩ On The 🕰️⬇️⬇️ https://t.co/fXSXVinGmQ

— Chris Roth (@rothchris) October 21, 2024

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.

The Genius of Brian Gutekunst

OK, let’s get it out of the way right now: Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst botched the kicking situation. He held onto Anders Carlson too long last year and was wrong on Brayden Narveson this year.

With that said, give Gutekunst a ton of credit for the Packers’ victory on Sunday.

With veteran kicker Brandon McManus available and in the clear following a league investigation, the Packers signed him on Tuesday. Five days later, he kicked the game-winning field goal. There is an undeniable comfort with an experienced, Super Bowl-winning kicker to come through in the clutch.

“Exciting. What a week,” McManus said. “I said on Wednesday, I’m super-excited to be here. Great group of guys. I’m oldest on the team by two years, so some of them are trying to call me ‘Uncle’ and ‘Dad’ already. Super-excited to be here. What a way to help this team win on my first game here at Lambeau Field.”

It wasn’t just McManus.

Under former general manager Ted Thompson, the Packers never would have a player like Eric Wilson on the roster. Why have a proven 30-year-old backup on the roster when you can have a 22-year-old rookie with some upside?

Gutekunst has fashioned the NFL’s youngest roster but also left room on the roster for proven veterans. That’s Wilson.

With Quay Walker missing most of the game with a concussion, it was Wilson to the rescue with one of the best games of his career.

Wilson recorded five tackles, two sacks, four tackles for losses and a pass breakup on defense and one tackle on special teams.

It’s fair to say the Packers probably wouldn’t have won the game without him.

With Houston starting at its 45 after a long kickoff return midway through the second quarter, Wilson blew up a screen to Joe Mixon for minus-2 to help force a field goal.

On third-and-5 to start the second half, he sacked C.J. Stroud.

On third-and-5 midway through the third quarter, he broke up a pass intended for Dalton Schultz.

On third-and-8 late in the third quarter, he sacked Stroud again.

On second-and-8 early in the fourth quarter, with Houston near midfield, Wilson stopped Mixon for a loss of 3 to help force a punt.

“Personally, it feels great, especially that we got the win,” Wilson said. “That’s the most important thing, first and foremost, for us to get the win.”

Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney were high-impact additions in free agency. The rookie class, specifically second-round linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (two tackles for losses and set up the second of Wilson’s sacks), second-round safety Javon Bullard (four tackles) and fourth-round safety Evan Williams (nine tackles), were standouts again. Words can’t properly explain how much better the safety play is this season.

Gutekunst has built a complete team that should have its focus on winning this year’s Super Bowl.

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Josh Jacobs deleted his name from the record book, then had a gift for Jordan Love.

On the #Packers RB's first career touchdown catch. ⬇️https://t.co/FiMLP38Frx

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 21, 2024

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