The Green Bay Packers followed up with a breathtaking performance Sunday at Lambeau Field, tying Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud for a career-low in scoring, passing and netting.
Stroud, the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, completed 10 of 21 passes for 86 yards, no touchdowns or interceptions. He averaged 4.1 yards per attempt, lost 31 yards on four sacks and finished with a 58.8 passer rating.
Pressure was the key. According to Next Gen Stats, Stroud was pressured on 48.5% of his dropbacks, a novel career high. He made only three passes under pressure.
“The defense played phenomenal,” quarterback Jordan Love said.
Coach Matt LaFleur said the Packers never allowed Stroud to get comfortable.
“We put a lot of pressure on him,” LaFleur said.
Stroud completed only one pass for more than 20 yards, a 28-yarder to Dalton Schultz. Targeting receivers Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell, Stroud was 5-of-11 for 23 yards. The Texans finished the game with just six passes on their first down.
The Packers defense allowed 22 points, but that number is misleading. Of the 22 points, 16 were scored on turnovers, including 10 on turnovers that gave the Texans the ball at the 20-yard line.
In nine drives that started without a turnover, the Texans scored just six points and struck out six times.
Sunday was Stroud’s 22nd NFL start. Only once before – last December against the New York Jets – did he finish with a game under 100 passing yards and a passer rating under 60.0.
The Packers finished the game with seven quarterback hits and four sacks. Of the four sacks, three were due to tackles. A sack by Xavier McKinney in the first half pushed the Texans out of field goal range and forced a punt. Eric Wilson’s sack ended the Texans’ first second-half scoring streak in three plays. Wilson finished another drive in the second half with a sack on third down near midfield.
The Texans were missing top receiver Nico Collins and veteran Robert Woods, but it’s still tough to downplay how well the Packers did with a top youthful quarterback in a gigantic game.
The road to the Super Bowl is littered with elite quarterbacks. On a day where the Packers didn’t record a single takeaway, a high-pressure defensive performance and stunning defensive efficiency combined to produce a dominant performance from Jeff Hafley’s defense against the top passer.
