In his first game with the Packers, Brandon McManus kicked a 45-yard field goal on the final play to give his new team a dramatic 24-22 win over the Texans.
Both teams now are 5-2.
McManus signed with the Packers this week, and his first field goal came with three seconds remaining and the game on the line.
The Texans should have not even been in the game, gaining only 197 yards as C.J. Stroud was under duress the entire game. He passed for only 86 yards, completing 10 of 21 passes. Three Packers turnovers, including two picks thrown by Jordan Love, kept the Texans in it.
Houston got what it deserved, though, in not playing to win.
Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked a 35-yard field goal with 1:44 remaining to give Houston a short-lived lead in a game that had seven lead changes. The Texans, though, didn’t even try for the touchdown.
The Texans reached the Green Bay 12 at the 2-minute warning on an 11-yard pass from Stroud to Xavier Hutchinson on third-and-10. But the Texans then chose to run Joe Mixon twice, and he lost 5 yards as the Packers sold out to stop the run. Stroud’s third-down pass was incomplete and wouldn’t have been a first down anyway.
Mixon had 115 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.
The Texans, now 4-1 in one-possession games this season, remain in search of a signature road win in a resurgence that began in 2023.
The Packers protected their home field despite some sloppy play.
Houston scored 16 points off three Green Bay turnovers in the first half, taking a 19-14 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Texans’ scoring drives covered 6, 11, 23 and 55 yards.
Besides Neville Hewitt and Calen Bullock’s picks of Love, Texans safety M.J. Steward recovered a punt that hit Corey Ballentine in the shin. They should have had a fourth takeaway, but DeMeco Ryans inexplicably didn’t challenge a backward pass by the Packers that was ruled an incompletion. The Packers hustled to the line and Dontayvion Wicks caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Love.
The Texans also had a 42-yard kickoff return from Dameon Pierce to set up a field goal.
Love went 24-of-33 for 220 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Romeo Doubs caught eight passes for 94 yards. Wicks, Tucker Kraft and Josh Jacobs had touchdown receptions.
Eric Wilson had two sacks of Stroud, and Xavier McKinney and Rashan Gary each had one. The Packers had seven quarterback hits and 11 tackles for loss.
