Green Bay’s Jordan Love and Houston’s C.J. Stroud both grew up in Southern California and consider themselves good friends.
Now they’re two of the NFL’s top young quarterbacks, and they’ll face off against each other for the first time Sunday as the AFC South-leading Texans enter Lambeau Field on a three-game winning streak.
Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 draft, went to Rancho Cucamonga High School in San Bernardino County, east of Los Angeles, before starring at Ohio State. He and Love both led their respective teams to divisional playoff appearances as first-year starters last season, and both players are off to strong starts this fall.
Houston (5-1) is seeking its first four-game winning streak since 2018, when the Texans won nine in a row. Green Bay (4-2) has won two straight and is coming off a 34-13 triumph over Arizona in which Love threw four touchdown passes.
Both QBs have reason to be wary heading into this matchup.
Houston ranks third in the NFL in total defense and fourth in pass defense. Green Bay has an NFL-leading 17 takeaways and has intercepted nine passes.
Packers safety Xavier McKinney recorded an interception in each of his first five games. That streak ended against the Cardinals, but the Packers recovered fumbles on three straight Arizona possessions.
The Texans have just one win in this series, and it came at Green Bay in 2008. Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, a former linebacker, had nine tackles and a sack in Houston’s 24-21 victory.
Green Bay switched kickers this week, signing 33-year-old veteran Brandon McManus and releasing rookie Brayden Narveson.
McManus had been out of a job since the summer, when two women sued him and the Jacksonville Jaguars alleging he sexually assaulted them when they were working as flight attendants on the Jaguars’ trip to London. The NFL said late last month it didn’t find sufficient evidence that McManus violated the league's personal conduct policy, and attorneys on both sides said this week that the civil claims had been settled.
The former Jaguars and Denver Broncos kicker has made 54.9% of his career attempts from 50-plus yards (45 of 82) and has been accurate on 90.8% of his other attempts (208 of 229). Narveson was 12 of 17 on field goals without attempting any from beyond 49 yards.
Texans defensive end Will Anderson had eight tackles, three sacks, four tackles for losses and deflected a pass last week to earn AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. He has 12 1/2 sacks through his first 21 games, which ranks second in franchise history in that span behind J.J. Watt, who had 13 from 2011-12.
The Packers are 10-2 at home against AFC opponents under coach Matt LaFleur, who took over in 2019. The Packers have won their last four games against AFC teams, including a 16-10 home victory over the Indianapolis Colts and a 30-14 triumph at Tennessee this season.
