Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
The forthcoming game between the Green Bay Packers and the Houston Texans is one of those important clashes between two teams vying for a Super Bowl run. Both have been on a winning streak lately, with the Texans at 5-1 and the Packers at 4-2.
The series stands 4-1 in favor of Green Bay. They only beat the Texans in the series, at Lambeau in 2008, with Matt Lafleur being an offensive assistant in the team.
Here are key matchups to watch out for:
Packers QB Jordan Love vs Texans QB CJ Stroud
Packers quarterback Jordan Love is coming off a 22/32 for 258 yards passing and four touchdowns performance in a 34-13 victory against the Cardinals. Even though he missed two games this season, Love is tied for 2nd in touchdown passes with 12. He has progressively looked better each game since returning from his injury.
Texans quarterback CJ Stroud is coming off a 20/31 for 192 yards passing and three touchdowns performance in a 41-21 victory against the Patriots. He already got the Texans looking like a top five team in the league. CJ Stroud has to have the bigger game considering how banged up the Texans are.
OT Zach Tom vs DT Will Anderson Jr
Packers offensive tackle Zach Tom is an all-pro level tackle. The only offensive tackles with an 80+ passing blocking and running blocking grade besides Thomas are Trent Williams and Jordan Mailata. He needs to be on point this week shutting down Will Anderson Jr.
Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. had three sacks and eight tackles against the Patriots, as he’s named AFC Defensive Player of the Week. He ranks 6th in the NFL this season with 5.5 sacks. He knows how to get past those big tackles for the QB hits and pressures.
Packers offensive line vs Texans defensive line
A third of the way through the season, Green Bay has had one of the better pass-blocking units in the league. Packers quarterback Jordan Love has the lowest percentage of pressures turned into sacks this season (7.7%) in the NFL and fewest sacks taken (4).
The Houston Texans ranked 3rd in the total defense this season. They have an insane Texans D-line, and Demeco Ryan is a great head coach. The Texans defensive line just got a huge boost now that defensive tackle Denico Autry will return from a six-game suspension.
RB Josh Jacobs vs Texans run defense
Packers running back Josh Jacobs ranks 5th in the league in rushing with 464 yards through six games. The rushing volume is there within the elite Green Bay offense, but the problem is he isn’t scoring enough rushing touchdowns yet. That has to get corrected at some point.
This season, the Texans’ run defense is ranked 14th with 113.8. The Houston Texans run defense has given up an average of 4.6 yards a rush. The only notable running backs who struggled against this run defense were Jonathan Taylor and DeAndre Swift.
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