Texans Drop Third Straight, 21-13 in Green Bay

Snow fell all game, and now the Texans are in danger of being left out in the cold come playoff time.

For once, Brock Osweiler doesn’t deserve the majority of the blame. He went 22/35 for 202 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. In fact, he stats were almost identical to the much more notorious Aaron Rodgers. But the running game never got going and it squashed any hope of the Texans pulling off an upset.

Lamar Miller was limited to just 22 yards on 14 carries, seeing limited action after being taken off the field in the first half. He would return, but not be effective. Jonathan Grimes had a decent day, running for 43 yards on five carries while Alfred Blue chipped in another 38 on five carries.

Next: Osweiler is the guy for 2016

Things looked bad out of the gate as Ryan Griffin fumbled on the first drive of the game and Morgan Burnett returned it into Texans territory. However, Rodgers would fumble a snap inside the ten and Whitney Mercilus would recover it.

The only score in the first half was from Randall Cobb, who caught a nine yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to give the hosts a 7-0 lead at the intermission.

Second Half

In the second half, the Texans evened it up as Osweiler hit Griffin for a six yard score. With just 12:42 left in the game the Packers got the lead back as Rodgers hit Jordy Nelson for a 32 yard touchdown pass, as Nelson was all alone in the back of the end zone.

The Packers looked to have iced the game with 4:11 left as fullback Aaron Ripkowski pounded the ball into the end zone to give the Packers a 21-7 lead. But the Texans were not done. With less than two minutes to go, Osweiler hit DeAndre Hopkins for a 44 yard score. After the extra point was missed, Houston attempted the onside kick. But unlike last week would not recover it, and fell by the same score as last week.

There have been some themes throughout the season that seem to never change. The Texans still generate no pass rush. Even with Rodgers nursing a hamstring injury he was still able to move around in the pocket and outside of it and make plays. The offensive line seems to get worse every week, and Osweiler is not on the same page as his receivers.

Granted, the last three opponents have been fairly tough. But it won’t get any easier as the Texans head to Indianapolis next week to take on the Colts. If the Colts defeat the Jets tomorrow night, that game will determine who leads the division. Both currently have the tiebreaker on Tennessee.