Stock Report: Brandon McManus Rises as Packers Beat Texans

Brandon McManus did not get a chance to settle in to his new team. He was asked to make a 45-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Packers over the Texans.

Oct 20, 2024; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) catches a first half touchdown pass against the Houston Texans at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: William Glasheen/Appleton Post-Crescent via the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin-Imagn Images / William Glasheen/Appleton Post-Crescent via the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers had a special atmosphere in the air when they welcomed the Houston Texans to Lambeau Field on Sunday afternoon.

They were hosting their “Winter Warning” initiative with their alternate all white uniforms.

Jerry Kramer was in the house, and received a raucous ovation before the game even started.

Eventually, pregame festivities gave way to football, and it was a showdown between the 5-1 Houston Texans and 4-2 Green Bay Packers.

There were some fireworks at the beginning of the game as well, they just weren’t the type that the home crowd was hoping for.

Love’s second pass of the game was intercepted and returned deep into Green Bay territory, essentially gifting the Texans their first score of the game.

If last week’s game was the epitome of starting fast, this week’s first quarter hardly saw the Packers leave the starting blocks.

The second quarter was much different. Jordan Love made a special throw to Tucker Kraft to give the Packers the lead, and the game was back-and-forth from there.

Despite the Packers holding a massive yardage advantage at one point in the first quarter, they were never able to extend their lead beyond one possession in the first half.

Ultimately, the game came down to a 45-yard field goal from Brandon McManus.

He is on our list of risers, along with Jordan Love for bailing himself out by leading a game-winning drive.

Rising

Tucker Kraft

Where would the tight end position be without Tucker Kraft? Ben Sims is a nice role player, but not going to give much in the passing game.

Luke Musgrave is on injured reserve and was struggling to make an impact before getting injured.

Kraft’s impact in the first half was monumental. He showed off his ability to make plays after the ball is in his hands on a short completion that he turned into a first down.

He’s asked to block defensive ends 1-on-1 and does so.

He is also capable of catching seeds thrown by his quarterback for touchdowns.

There was no question any longer, but the distance between Kraft and the rest of his position group, is growing.

Rashan Gary

Yes, Gary’s first sack of the game was a relative gimme where Tytus Howard fell down, but Gary was far more disruptive today than he has been in recent weeks.

He had a solid showing last week against Arizona with belief that better results would be soon to follow.

Today, he was in CJ Stroud’s face multiple times, making life difficult on the young quarterback.

Gary is paid to be a disruptive force. He has not been that for most of the season, but today he was.

The Packers will need more games like this one from him as the calendar turns to November.

Jordan Love

The big plays from Jordan Love are incredible. His touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft is one of the best throws you’ll see this season.

The bad stuff? There’s too much of it.

Love leads the league in interceptions. There’s no way to sugarcoat that. Perhaps you can operate with the idea in mind that Love’s interception last week was not his fault.

The two he threw in the first half today? Both were on him. One was telegraphed into a tipped pass that was picked off by Neville Hewitt.

His second was a poor decision that resulted in an overthrow in the direction of Christian Watson that was picked off by Calen Bullock.

Love’s turnovers were an issue in the first half of last season before he cleaned them up, but that was a different time.

The world wasn’t sure if Love was a franchise quarterback. The Packers were not sure if he was their quarterback of the future.

Love parlayed a strong finish into a $220 million extension.

He has had some big moments, but consistency is what makes the great players, great.

Love’s been too inconsistent and careless with the ball.

To whom much is given, in this case, the keys to the franchise, much is expected.

Love delivered on what was expected of him. Trailing late in the fourth quarter with one timeout against a tough Texans’ defense, Love drove his team right down the field to get in position for a game winning field goal.

Does he need to be better earlier in the game so drives like this do not matter? Yes.

Does he need to play better? Yes.

However, quarterbacks are paid in this league to win late in the game.

Love did that.

"I'm just going to keep playing, Love said.

"I just try to make it as normal as a drive as possible."

If he keeps playing like he did late in the game, the Packers are going to win a lot of games

Eric Wilson

What a find Eric Wilson has been. He was brought in on a waiver claim to mostly be a staple on special teams.

He’s been much more than that.

Whenever he gets snaps on defense, he appears to make an impact.

He was asked to do more today with Quay Walker exiting the game with a concussion.

Wilson read a screen to Dare Ogunbowale, and punished him on the play.

On the first series of the second half, with the Texans looking to go up two scores, Wilson made a huge play on third down to end the drive.

Kenny Clark took on a double team and got Stroud off of his spot, Wilson worked his way around his man, and sacked Stroud, giving the Packers the ball back.

He ended Houston’s next drive with a pass breakup on an all-out pressure.

He ended the next drive with a sack of CJ Stroud.

If you’re sensing a theme here…

For a guy who did not have a lot of expectations, he continues to make plays.

He’ll get more opportunities in the near future if Walker has to miss time.

Romeo Doubs

Two weeks removed from his suspension, Romeo Doubs is playing his best football of the season.

He scored twice last week, and was Love’s most consistent receiver on this day against the Texans.

Whether he drew standout cornerback Derek Stingley Jr or not, Doubs consistently was open on routes breaking to the middle of the field.

He finished the day with eight catches for 95 yards, including two tough catches on the game-winning drive.

The Packers don’t typically have a go-to receiver, and it changes weekly.

This week, that man was Doubs, as it typically has been in the team’s biggest games, and in the biggest moments.

Brandon McManus

What a difference a week makes.

One week ago, any Packer fan at Lambeau Field would have had little-to-no confidence that Brayden Narveson would make a 45-yard field goal to win a game.

This week, Narveson was replaced with the veteran McManus.

McManus’ debut did not allow him to ease into his new situation. He made all three of his extra points, and most importantly, was entrusted to make a kick to win the game.

Daniel Whelan fielded a poor snap from Matt Orzech, and McManus drilled the ball through the uprights.

He received a loud ovation, and it led to a team-wide Lambeau leap.

Aaron Rodgers once smiled after a big game from their defense against the Chicago Bears and said, “We got a defense.”

Perhaps Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst are smiling thinking they have a kicker.

Falling

Keisean Nixon

Nixon is one of the team’s staples on defense and special teams.

Last week, he drew praise from his defensive coordinator saying he’s been asked to do so many things, and done them well.

This week, he added punt returner to that list of duties, and it was met with disaster.

Nixon’s failure to call for a fair catch or alert his teammates to get away from the ball resulted in a fumble that cost the team seven points.

Nixon is as explosive as they come in the return game. His decision making as a punt returner, however, has been spotty at best in his limited opportunities.

The Packers clearly want to give him more chances to get the ball in his hands with kickoffs essentially guaranteed to sail over his head.

With massive mistakes like that, LaFleur and Bisaccia might think twice about putting him back there again.

Lukas Van Ness

Speaking of players that have been given a lot, Lukas Van Ness was the 13th overall pick and is in his second season.

He was a breakout candidate coming into this season with the thought that playing with his hand in the dirt would make him more explosive.

There were reports from Ian Rapoport that the Packers were getting calls on Preston Smith, and moving him could potentially open up playing time for Van Ness.

Van Ness has not been nearly disruptive enough for a guy who was picked in the top-15 of his draft class. Brian Gutekunst even maneuvered in that draft to get him.

He has rewarded Gutekunst this season with one sack, and is largely ineffective as a pass rusher. He looks like someone who has not gotten better from his rookie season to this year.

The Packers made a huge investment in Van Ness and need him to be better both this year and in the future.

So far, after being on everyone’s potential breakout list, He’ll likely make everyone’s list of most disappointing players.

Brandon McManus made the game-winning field goal as the #Packers beat the Texans. ⬇️https://t.co/g2Jhzz7D6i

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 20, 2024