Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers vs. Houston Texans: Lombardi Ave predictions

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Every game is a must-win now for the Green Bay Packers.

At long last the Packers got a win. As a staff we put faith in them to win on Monday night, and they finally repaid our belief.

One must-win game in the bag. Now it’s onto another. A Packers win and Lions loss would blow the NFC North wide open. A Packers loss and Lions win could seal it for Detroit. That’s how important each game is now in the month of December.

Will the Packers get the W?

Freddie Boston: Aaron Rodgers plays some of his best football when his back is against the wall. He was near-perfect in Philadelphia last week, and I expect another excellent performance at home on Sunday.

Despite the Packers’ defensive struggles, Brock Osweiler‘s struggles could let Dom Capers’ unit off the hook.

For once, I expect Green Bay to win comfortably.

Packers 24, Texans 14

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Brad Miller: If the Packers want to back up Aaron Rodgers’ prediction that they can run the table then it has to continue against the incoming Texans.

Houston has a tremendous defense even without defensive MVP J.J. Watt. There is no lack of talent in the Texans’ fifth-ranked defense.

The Houston offense has been holding its own with former Dolphin RB Lamar Miller running for 881 yards so far this season. QB Brock Osweiler has had his struggles this season as his interception total has bypassed his TD total (13 vs 12). Houston has talent in their receivers but Osweiler simply isn’t getting the ball to them.

The Packers will need to continue to use a quick pass offense to take over for a running attack that has been stagnant since the loss of Eddie Lacy.

Coach McCarthy, finally, made play calls to get Rodgers going early in the game. His targets were getting open for him and that benefits the whole offense when that happens.

Look for that play calling to continue this week.

I believe that the Packers will show their potent offense to the Texans in front of the home crowd. Let’s hope the defense gets Blake Martinez and Jake Ryan back to solidify the Packers defense and throw Clay Matthews back out to the play his OLB position.

Packers 27, Texans 16

Ralph Mancini: Even without J.J. Watt, the Texans remain a well-coached group with playmakers on both sides of the ball, which means that they could give the Packers a run for their money this Sunday at Lambeau Field.

But here’s why they won’t.

Quarterback Brock Osweiler sports the lowest quarterback rating among the starting signal callers (72.2) despite being surrounded by a strong running attack and arguably a top-5 wide receiver in DeAndre Hopkins.

The only way Houston wins is by hiding their quarterback and hope for a low-scoring game, but that doesn’t seem likely with Aaron Rodgers heating up in recent weeks.

Not only is Osweiler 1-4 on the road, but he only has four touchdown passes in those five contests to show for it. That won’t be enough to keep up with Green Bay’s offense.

Packers 33, Texans 17

Josh McPeak: All eyes will be on the hamstring of Aaron Rodgers. The now 33-year-old leader of the Pack must again, work through a lower body injury. Hopefully it will not flare up or limit his mobility. A 50 percent Aaron Rodgers is better than a 100 percent Brock Osweiler.

I’ll go Pack. Just win out baby!

Packers 31, Texans 17