Aaron Rodgers looked like the MVP player that he is and the Packers gave the Texans their first loss of the season, winning big 42-24 on the road to improve to 3-3.
The win gave the NFC another team that is has a .500 record and above and made the Atlanta Falcons the only unbeaten team in the NFL. Amazingly, there are only two teams in the AFC with plus-.500 records, including the Texans and the Baltimore Ravens. In the NFC, there are seven, including the New York Giants and the Seattle Seahawks, who both won on Sunday.
Rodgers threw for six touchdowns, tying a franchise record, and the Packers torched the Houston defense for over 400 yards. The Texans defense had been ranked in the top 10 in passing and rushing defense, but was totally dominated ion Sunday night.
"This was an important game for us," Rodgers said to the Associated Press. "We had a couple not go our way, games we should have won and 2-4 would have been very difficult."
The Packers played well in all three phases of the game and scored 14 unanswered points to open the first quarter. Rodgers threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jordy Nelson for the first points of the game. The drive was helped out by the Texans after rookie DeVier Posey was called offsides as Green Bay was lining up to punt.
The Green Bay offensive line played much better than they have all season, keeping Rodgers clean and allowing him to move around in the pocket. He was only sacked twice as compared to 21 in the other games.
"As a quarterback, it's interesting to see the kind of dances that go on around you," Rodgers said, "and it's not often that you get a chance to dance back to them."
Rodgers passed for 338 yards and no interceptions. He threw three touchdowns to Nelson and two to James Jones, including one in the fourth quarter that Jones caught with one hand. Rodgers completed all but nine of his passes on the night.
"This is just a team that has a lot of pride in our locker room," Rodgers said. "I said it this week, there's not any quit in that locker room. It's almost better when people are doubting us a little bit, I think. We kind of band together. People tried to pull us apart this week and we stuck together and found our motivation."
Nelson came up huge for the Packers, catching nine balls for 121 yards and three touchdowns from Rodgers.
Green Bay only gained 99 rushing yards in the game, but they didn't need to be effective on the ground on this night. The defense shut down Houston, allowing only 90 yards rushing and 232 passing yards from Texans quarterback Matt Schuab. The Packers forced two interceptions and didn't turn over the ball once.
He put on a show tonight," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said of Rodgers.
Arian Foster only gained 20 rushing yards in the game, but was able to score two touchdowns.
Houston was the last undefeated team in the AFC, but now sits 5-1 on the season after a completely dominating performance from the Packers. The defense missed linebacker Brian Cushing, who was lost for the season last week against the New York Jets.
Defensive end J.J. Watt did his best to keep Houston in the game, earning both of the sacks on Rodgers, but the defense offered him no help. Rodgers carved up the secondary with precise passes and safety Daniel Manning was called for a personal foul on a crucial play in the third quarter that allowed the Packers to take a 28-10 lead.
"That's discipline," Kubiak said, "and discipline starts with me."
Andre Johnson was one of the lone bright spots for the Texans, catching eight balls for 75 yards. According to ESPN.com, Johnson eclipsed 10,000 receiving yards for his career.
The game was a must-win for the Packers, who would have fallen to 2-4 on the season if they lost. They now are 3-3, just a game behind the Minnesota Vikings (4-2) and the Chicago Bears (4-1), who were on a bye this week.
