The Packers won in every aspect of the game, as they should’ve. Even at that, Green Bay didn’t play all that well, but limited mistakes which paved the way to a 21-point victory. Aside from sloppy footwork on a few throws, Jordan Love played safe, smart football. That translated to 22/32, 258 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT (WR slipped on perfect throw), 119.5 rating.

The best part that likely went unnoticed was Green Bay ran the ball 38 times (54.3%) for 179 yards (4.7 yards/rush). That’s a perfect ratio for success. Not only was it a balanced attack, the carries were split in a balance as well. Josh Jacobs had 18 carries for 62 yards, with Emanuel Wilson getting 7 for 54 yards. This commitment to the run game is the path to postseason success. Yes, you need production with it, however running the ball throughout the game wears the defense down which should turn shorter gains into bigger ones later in the game. It also opens the pass game up a bit along with play action making the offense as dynamic as possible. The time of possession comes with this too as the Packers possessed the ball for 36:35, bringing the Packers up to 6^th in the NFL in time of possession averaging 31:55 per game. This helps the defense too…

Speaking of the defense, while we didn’t register a sack, they kept contain on Kyler Murray and pressured him enough to force poor throws. They did generate 3 turnovers on fumbles and again, only scoring 3 points off those turnovers. Green Bay missed a field goal, made a field goal, and ended the game, respectively, off each turnover. The Packers allowed 303 total yards on 10 Arizona drives, which is very solid against the now 15^th-ranked offense. Kenny Clark still gets a play-wrecking push when not double-teamed and Rashan Gary was getting a considerable push on the edge throughout the game, while still not registering much in the QB pressure area. Green Bay will need to begin getting sacks when facing less mobile QBs, but as long as they can make the QB uncomfortable, that’s the primary goal as it leads to incompletions and interceptions.

Big Matchup

There are quite a few matchups in the NFL this week that will garner quite a bit of attention, with Houston visiting Lambeau Field as one of them. The Texans are 5-1, with their sole loss coming at the hands of the Vikings, while Green Bay has improved over the last couple of weeks and beginning to hit their stride.

The Texans present a major challenge on defense considering they have one of the brightest young QBs the league has seen in some time – or at least one of the most productive rookie QBs we’ve seen. Much credit should go to Green Bay native, Bobby Slowik, who had a nice article in espn.com, yesterday.

Houston features one of the best young QBs in the game, C.J. Stroud. Stroud will be missing his top target in Nico Collins for at least 4 games after he injured his hamstring in the team’s Week 5 win vs. Buffalo. They do have a familiar face in Stefon Diggs who spent his first 5 seasons in Minnesota. The running back situation for Houston is a bit up in the air as their leading rusher (Joe Mixon) is Questionable for the game, and considering Green Bay has a solid rush defense, this puts a bit more pressure on Stroud and the Texans passing attack, and hopefully Green Bay is able to create a few turnovers again. Scoring off those turnovers is always paramount and it will likely be the difference-maker in the result of the game.

The Packers lead the NFL with 17 takeaways and a +9 turnover differential, where Houston is tied for 14^th with 7 takeaways and is tied for 13^th with a 0 turnover differential. Green Bay needs to keep the turnover differential in their favor, especially when facing good quality opponents.

Jordan Love and his WR corps are hitting stride at a good time considering the Packers are entering the toughest part of their schedule and are in danger of falling further behind Detroit and Minnesota, but still have 5 divisional games left on their schedule.

Season: 4-2
Overall: 96-68