When the NFL released the schedule in the middle of May, one of the first games that caught my attention was a Week 7 visit from 2023 Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans. While the Green Bay Packers and Texans don’t have an extensive history of playing each other – the Texans only entered the league in 2002, after all – Green Bay holds a 4-1 all-time matchup advantage, with the last meeting coming during the COVID season of 2020 in Houston.
The Texans game will mark Houston’s first trip to Lambeau since the Packers beat them 21-13 in a picturesque December game at the Frozen Tundra. That matchup featured a battle between a pair of 6-6, middle-of-the-road teams fighting for playoff positioning. The 2024 incarnation will be a highly anticipated matchup of two youthful, up-and-coming teams led by highly talented young quarterbacks.
Let’s take a look at the three most intriguing parts of this matchup.
C.J. Stroud vs. Jordan Love
Whenever we talk about two quarterbacks facing off, it is important to note they aren’t on the field simultaneously. However, who are we kidding? This matchup is absolutely a showdown between two of the most exciting young quarterbacks this league has to offer.
C.J. Stroud was the 2023 NFL Rookie of the Year after an amazing season, leading the Texans to a playoff win over Comeback Player of the Year Joe Flacco and the Cleveland Browns. While Love struggled to adjust to his first season as a starter, he finished the season on a tear, ending up second in touchdown passes, 11th in passer rating, and 13th in yards per attempt.
Love and Stroud had outstanding first regular seasons as starters. They continued that into the postseason, with Stroud leading Houston over Cleveland and becoming the youngest quarterback to win a playoff game. They also came close to upsetting the Baltimore Ravens, being tied at 10 at the half. Stroud held his own against 2023 league MVP Lamar Jackson before Baltimore was able to pull away in the third quarter.
Love led Green Bay into Jerry World and dismantled the heavily favored Dallas Cowboys, finishing that game with a 157.2 passer rating and helping the seventh-seeded Packers upset the two-seeded Cowboys in the first-ever 7-over-2 upset. With this game coming in what will hopefully be perfect October weather in Green Bay, expect a show from these two gunslingers.
Matt LaFleur vs. DeMeco Ryans
Like the matchup between Stroud and Love, the coaching matchup in this game features two of the youngest and most impressive coaches in the NFL. Ryans was just edged out in the 2023 Coach of the Year voting by the Browns’ Kevin Stefanski. However, you could argue that he should have won the award for what he did with a rookie quarterback and a young roster — and for beating Stefanski’s Browns in the playoffs (I know, I know, it’s a regular-season award).
He helped the Texans win a division title for the first time since 2019 in an increasingly competitive division. On the other hand, LaFleur has consistently kept the Packers in contention through Aaron Rodgers' final years and the smooth transition to Jordan Love, bringing them within three points of his third NFC Championship appearance.
While this will be their first meeting as head coaches, LaFleur’s offense has faced Ryans' defense twice. The most recent was in the 2021 Divisional Round, in which Ryans' defense held LaFleur’s offense to just 10 points at home. LaFleur and Ryans know each other very well. LaFleur was an offensive assistant on the Texans for two seasons while Ryans was a starting linebacker, adding to their familiarity.
Look for two coaches trying to use their knowledge of each other to help their team gain an edge.
Super Bowl LIX preview?
Okay, maybe it is premature to say this might be a Super Bowl preview. Still, why not? ESPN has Green Bay and Houston in the top 10 of its Super Bowl betting odds. The Texans are eighth at 16-1, and the Packers are ninth at 18-1.
Both teams ended last season with close losses in the Divisional Round, and both got markedly better this offseason. Houston got Stroud a legitimate No. 1 receiver when they traded for former Packers killer Stefon Diggs. That move should make an impressive Texans offense into a legitimate threat to score every time they touch the ball.
On the other hand, the roster for the Green Bay offense looks mostly the same. While they may not have added any marquee names, another year in the system and more snaps for an especially young group should yield significant progress.
The team also took steps toward improving from the outside when they fired longtime lightning rod of fan aggression Joe Barry and brought in the top free-agency safety, Xavier McKinney. Green Bay expects these defensive moves to help a defense with championship-level talent finally realize its potential. Plus, we were just one game away from this being a Super Bowl LVIII matchup last year, so it’s certainly within the realm of possibility that we get to see it in 2024.
Why isn’t this in primetime?
P.S. to the NFL schedule makers: Why is this game not in prime time? I was fully expecting this game to land on a Sunday night, but, alas, it will be a noon kickoff. Opportunity missed for all of America to get a chance to see these two young, hungry teams.
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