From the looks of various reports around the NFL the first preseason game for the Houston Texans will involve them not seeing Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, rather the franchise will be seeing a lot of former first round pick Jordan Love.
That’s right, the Texans at least won’t have to face the reigning NFL MVP in the preseason opener, but they are facing an unknown in Love, and for a Texans team that is under new leadership and running a new defense, missing Rodgers the first time out can be helpful.
Even without facing a Top 5 quarterback in the NFL, squaring off against Love isn’t an easy task either with the Texans playing at the legendary Lambeau Field this Saturday night. Plus, in facing the unknown Love, seeing how the Texans respond facing a quarterback who is making his first NFL snaps after not playing last season will be interesting to say the least.
Who knows how ready Love is to play at the high level of the NFL? The Texans will be the first to see what Love has to offer and that makes this preseason game worth watching.
Ryan Wood at USA Today wrote about the upcoming preseason debut of Jordan Love and how the Packers are excited to see their young quarterback play in the preseason, quoting Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur:
"“More than anything else,” LaFleur said, “the one thing that we’ll make sure to keep pressing on to him is just the tempo in and out of the huddle.”"
That said, the Texans defense will be using a new scheme for the franchise with Lovie Smith being the defensive coordinator this season. Remember he uses the Tampa 2 look with a 4-3 base, and not the usual 3-4 base the Texans have becomes accustomed to over the years, so the new look on defense will take some getting used to, but it was a needed change after what we all watched in ’20.
Houston Texans: Facing Green Bay in Week 1 is a positive for team
With the Texans opening the preseason on the road following a wild offseason, it is a good thing for them to taking on the Packers to get things rolling, because the Packers even in an exhibition game will be a formidable opponent.
Playing the Packers will make the Houston Texans a better team in due time, and it will be a good starting point to see where some of the roster stands. It also allows first-year head coach David Culley to face quality competition from the very start of his head coaching tenure, an get his style of coaching out there for the team to see in a game situation.
Of course this game isn’t going to be treated like a full regular season game, but this is still an exciting moment for the Houston Texans. They need all the time they can get on the field in preparation of their 17-game regular season schedule, especially with a good amount of young players who need their chance to been seen.
From here on out the level of play for the Texans needs to be turned up, and by the time they face not only Jordan Love this weekend, but play in their other preseason games this summer, it hopefully shows exactly where the the franchise sits by the time Week 1 of the regular season rolls around.
Playing the Packers and facing a talented young quarterback like Jordan Love is a competitive and positive way to start the preseason, and something to look forward to on Saturday night.