Revisiting the Texans-Packers Brief History

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are coming off of a much needed victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Rodgers finished the game completing 30 of 39 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns. Photo by Keith Allison (public domain).

The Green Bay Packers will return to Lambeau Field after a three-game road trip as they prepare to host the Houston Texans at noon on Sunday. The Packers are coming off of a much-needed win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.

Playing on a short week, Green Bay (5-6) has much work ahead of it with hopes of reaching the postseason. Houston (6-5), despite a 21-13 defeat to the San Diego Chargers last Sunday, hold the top spot in the AFC South. Neither the Packers nor the Texans have room for error at this point with just five weeks remaining in the regular season.

Earlier this season, the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers squared off in their 193rd all-time meeting; the most meetings between two teams in NFL history. On Sunday, the Texans and Packers will play for only the fourth time in history, the fewest of any of Green Bay’s opponents.

The Houston Texans franchise played its inaugural season in 2002 and is currently the NFL’s youngest. The Texans are in their 15th season while Green Bay is in its 96th NFL season (98th overall).

The NFL’s scheduling formula ensures that every team will play each of the other 31 teams at least once in a four-year span. The Texans and Packers first met in 2004, followed by regular season contests in 2008, 2012, and now, 2016.

On Nov. 21, 2004, the Houston Texans (4-5) hosted the Green Bay Packers (5-4) in the first regular season contest between the two teams. Trailing 13-3 in the fourth quarter, the Packers rallied behind a 24-yard touchdown reception by Donald Driver from Brett Favre followed by a 39-yard Ryan Longwell field goal to tie the game at 13. As time expired, Longwell connected on his third field goal of the game to give the Packers a 16-13 victory. Green Bay won its fifth straight game on its way to a 10-6 regular season finish while the Texans finished the season at 7-9. Green Bay would lose to Minnesota in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

The Dec. 7, 2008, contest took place at Lambeau Field and resulted in a similar conclusion as the 2004 match, however, this outcome favored the Texans. Both teams came into the game with a record of 5-7. In Aaron Rodgers’ first season as the full-time starter, he managed to help Green Bay to tie the game at 21 with five minutes to play in the fourth quarter. With time expiring, Houston’s Kris Brown converted a 40-yard field goal to give the Texans the win. Green Bay went on to win only one more game, finishing the regular season at 6-10. The Texans finished their season at 8-8 for the second straight year.

The most recent contest was played on Oct. 14, 2012, in Houston. The Texans (5-1) were favored to beat the Packers (3-3). Behind a career day for Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay climbed to a 42-17 lead in the fourth quarter and went on to claim victory, 42-24. Rodgers finished the game completing 24 of 37 passes for 338 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions. The Texans finished the season with a franchise best 12-4 regular season record and advanced to the Divisional Round of the playoffs, where they fell to the New England Patriots. The Packers finished at 11-5 where they, too, advanced to the Divisional Round before being eliminated by the San Francisco 49ers.

Sunday’s game is of equal importance for both teams that are looking to get into a rhythm and become one of the 12 teams to play past Week 17.

Sources: NFL.com and Packers’ Media Guide 2016