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There's no such thing as a good loss in the NFL, but the Houston Texans have to feel alright about the fact that they hung in with one of the NFC's best teams. They forced the Green Bay Packers to beat them via a last season field goal, and had newly acquired kicker Brandon McManus not made that kick, it would have gone down as a massive win for the Texans.
Alas, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. The Texans dropped to 5-2 and now they have to find a way to bounce back against an Indianapolis Colts team that is 4-3 and riding a two-game win streak, having won four of their last five.
That's a problem for a different time, though. Right now, the Texans need to lick their wounds and figure out why exactly things didn't go right against the Packers. Only then, can they move forward successfully.
As such, these three Texans should take the most blame for the loss.
DeMeco Ryans has pair of hiccups vs. Packers
DeMeco Ryans didn't play — he last touched the field as a player at Lambeau in 2008 — but he certainly played a role in this loss. NFL head coaches don't normally swing games one way or the other, since they're largely meant to be the “CEOs” of the team. Coaches majorly impacting winning and losing is something we see more of in college, but Ryans did have two big moments in this game in which he failed his team.
The first was was about midway through the second quarter when Ryans' defense got pressure on Packers quarterback Jordan Love and forced him to quickly dump it off to his running back. The problem with that play for Green Bay was that Love's pass barely made any forward movement and there was a strong case to be made that it was a backwards pass. The Texans had fallen on the ball, meaning they would have caused another turnover.
It was a reviewable play, but while Ryans and his staff were debating whether or not to challenge, the Packers sped up to the line and threw a touchdown pass right under their noses.
That was a tough moment for the Texans, but then later in the game with everything in the balance, Ryans once again committed a bad mistake.
The Texans were driving at the two-minute warning and had a chance to both milk the clock and take the lead with a field goal. They forced the Pack to take two timeouts on first and second down in the red zone, but on third and 15 from the Green Bay 17, Ryans inexplicably let a passing play get through his headset.
The Packers stopped that play, saved a timeout, and then ultimately used that timeout to kick the game-winning field goal on the next possession. It was a terrible mistake from Ryans and the Texans.
C.J. Stroud not up to par
C.J. Stroud, much like his counterpart in this game — Jordan Love — is absolutely going to be a star in this league. He doesn't get ruffled much and he has all the physical intangibles of the modern day NFL quarterback. He has a heck of an arm, but pairs that with exciting athleticism and playmaking ability.
Stroud will be just fine, but he was dreadful against the Packers. Credit Green Bay's defense for getting after him all day. The Packers sacked him four times and pressured him on just about every passing play.
Stroud's offensive line was much to blame as well, but ultimately, the young quarterback just didn't make the plays we've grown used to seeing from him.
He completed just 10-of-21 passes for 86 yards. Sure, he didn't throw an interception (while Love threw three) but he also didn't throw a touchdown. Ultimately, Love's ability to bounce back from his mistakes and still make big plays helped Green Bay win the game. Stroud just didn't have that on Sunday.
The whole Texans offensive line
This was already talked about in the last point, but it's worth mentioning again. Houston's offensive line was horrible against the Packers.
Yes, Stroud's numbers were terrible, but that's because the line in front of him gave him absolutely no room to operate.
Green Bay defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley seems to be finally getting his team on the same page after installing a brand new defense this offseason, and the Texans took the full brunt of it. Even when Stroud wasn't getting hit as a passer, he was being rushed every single time he touched the ball.
The offensive line did pave the way for 142 yards on the ground, but their performance in pass protection left a ton to be desired.
