The 4-2 Green Bay Packers stay home at Lambeau Field this week to host the 5-1 Houston Texans. It’s Green Bay’s third AFC South matchup in the first seven weeks of the season, with the final contest coming next week against the Jaguars. The Packers beat the Colts and Titans already and are 2-0 against AFC teams this year. It’s also Green Bay’s Winter Warning game, so the team will be in all-white jerseys with white helmets when the game kicks off on Sunday. As always, here are six things to think about going into the game. 

1. Riddled with Injuries

As the Packers get healthier each week, the Texans will be without a number of starters at Lambeau on Sunday. Wide receiver Nico Collins is on injured reserve after leading Houston with 567 receiving yards and four touchdowns through five games. Quarterback C.J. Stroud will still have Stefon Diggs (392 yards, three touchdowns) and Tank Dell (194 yards, one score) to throw to, and running back Joe Mixon is back for the run game, but the loss of Collins does leave Stroud without his favorite target against the Packers. 

In the secondary, rookie starting corner Kamari Lassiter is expected to be out at least a few more weeks with a scapula fracture, and starting safety Jimmie Ward will also miss Sunday’s matchup with a groin injury. Jordan Love and his wide receivers should be able to find some mismatches against Houston’s backup secondary. 

And while Mario Edwards isn’t dealing with an injury, he’s been suspended four games for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. He was tied for third on the team in sacks with two, and added five quarterback hits. He started all six games for the Texans, so his loss will be felt going up a stout Packers offensive line. 

2. Don’t Let Me Get In My Zone

Even without Collins last Sunday against the Patriots, the Texans were still able to put up 41 points. Houston has eclipsed 300 yards of total offense in every game this season except their lone loss to Minnesota. Having Mixon back certainly helps, too, as he has 286 rushing yards in his three games this season, giving him an average of 95.3 yards per game.

When it comes to red zone offense, the Texans are first in the NFL, scoring touchdowns on 12-of-16 drives, or 75% of the time. When Houston gets inside the 20, it’s almost guaranteed they’re leaving with points. 

Outside of the red zone, though, the Texans are right in the middle of the league ranked 15th and scoring points on roughly 39.4% of drives. For reference, the Packers rank 11th in the league and are scoring on 42.4% of offensive drives, but they drop all the way to 19th in the red zone, scoring touchdowns only 50% of the time. 

If we thought the Packers defense had their work cut out for them against the Texans offense, with Green Bay’s defense ranked 20th in red zone defense and allowing touchdowns on 57.1% of drives, the Texans red zone defense is significantly worse. The Packers may have an opportunity to fix some of their red zone woes on Sunday, as Houston ranks 28th in the league in red zone defense, allowing touchdowns 68.8% of the time. 

3. Turnover Feast or Famine 

The Texans have turned the ball over on offense in five straight games. Meanwhile, the defense had a whopping four turnovers last Sunday against the Patriots, but hadn’t forced a turnover previously since Week 2 against Chicago. Houston is neutral with a turnover differential of zero while the Packers continue to lead the league with a plus-nine turnover differential. 

Green Bay got after the ball again last Sunday against the Cardinals, forcing three fumbles on defense. It was the first time the defense failed to register an interception all season, but the fifth time in six games they forced three turnovers. The Packers defense ranks first in the NFL in turnover percentage, taking the ball away on 24.2% of drives, almost one out of every four possessions.  

The Packers have fumbled five times on offense this year, while the defense has forced 12 fumbles. The Texans have only fumbled four times this season, but Stroud is responsible for two of those on his own. He’s also thrown four interceptions and taken 16 sacks through six games. There should be opportunities on Sunday to force him into a mistake or two. 

4. Still the Hunted 

The Packers will see a familiar face on Sunday when Danielle Hunter comes to Lambeau. He’s second on the Texans with 2.5 sacks behind only Will Anderson’s 5.5 sacks, and three of those came last week against the Patriots. Hunter is the highest graded Texans defender per Pro Football Focus with an overall grade of 82.5. He ranks 10th out of 114 eligible edge rushers. 

Per StatMuse, Hunter has 7.5 sacks in 14 career games against the Packers, though only one of those has been against Love. The Packers offensive line has played well through six weeks, allowing only eight sacks all season. Love has taken four of those while Malik Willis has taken the other half. 

While we’ve been heaping praise on Green Bay’s rookie defenders, and rightfully so, we did get to see first-round pick Jordan Morgan back in game action last Sunday against the Cardinals. Now that he’s healthy, expect to see him playing more at right guard, whether he rotates with Sean Rhyan or gets the start this week. 

5. A Young Series

The Packers and Texans will only be playing for the sixth time when the teams meet on Sunday at Lambeau. Green Bay has won four of the five games played so far, with their lone loss coming in 2008. The Packers lost that game 24-21 at Lambeau Field. 

Since then, the Packers have won the last three games played and are averaging 32.7 points per game over that span. Green Bay put up 34 points against the Cardinals last week, the highest point total of the season on offense, and still left points on the board with a missed field goal. In fact, missed field goals would have put the Packers over 30 points in two additional games this season (both of their losses to the Eagles and Vikings). Scoring over 32 on Sunday against Houston remains entirely in the realm of possibilities. 

6. New Leg At Lambeau

Speaking of missed field goals, the Packers made a kicking change on Tuesday and moved on from Brayden Narveson. He had missed five field goals in six games and was averaging only 70.6% on attempts with a long of 47 yards. Given the conditions at Lambeau Field will only worsen as the season progresses, it makes sense why Green Bay would seek stability at a position that arguably cost them a few games already, and has cost them playoff opportunities in the past. 

Enter Brandon McManus. He’s been in the league since 2014 and won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos before playing last season with the Jaguars. He’s already 33, so he’s likely not a long-term solution, but he does have an 81.4% completion percentage on field goals with a career long of 61 yards. He’s also 97.2% all-time on extra points. He’s yet to play anywhere this season, so it remains to be seen how much of an upgrade he’ll be to Rich Bisaccia’s unit. 

Per Zach Kruse, McManus has a career field goal percentage of 90.8% on field goals under 50 yards. That would be ninth best among kickers who have attempted at least 50 kicks since 2010. In his last season with Jacksonville, McManus went 30-of-37 on field goals (81.1%) and was 100% on extra points. 

Kicker Alex Hale remains on Green Bay’s practice squad as part of the International Player Pathway program. The 26-year-old rookie could be in the team’s long term plans with another year of development.