The whole Sunday was a mystery. The end result was predictable, but the path to achieving that end result was not. Coming into the game, the Texans were missing five of their defensive starters. This was evident when the Packers were able to cut the Texans up the middle with Josh Jacobs and the passing game up the middle. The Packers’ defense contained the Texans’ passing game for most of the game, while the Texans’ offensive line seemingly took the afternoon off.

Flip the script and you have the most Texans wins from the first six weeks. The Packers thoroughly dominated the game and the scrimmage in particular, but still found a way to make a game of it. Some of that came on a muffed punt that turned into a Texans touchdown. Some of that came from two key Jordan Love interceptions in the first half.

They even let the Texans take the lead in the fourth quarter, but the Cinderella story was all for naught as the Packers did enough to pull out the victory late. The Texans just didn’t have enough this day against a really good football team. However, there were some very notable performances that we will be able to chew on all week as the Texans prepare for their next game.

Joe Mixon has played four games as a Texan and has 100 or more yards in three of them. He added two more touchdowns on the day as he is on pace to have 10 or more touchdowns this season. He may not make Texans fans forget about Arian Foster, but he is definitely the best back the team has had since Foster.

Calen Bullock added his third interception of the season as he makes a case for Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. Last year’s Defensive Rookie of the Year (Will Anderson) and his partner in crime did their best to keep the Texans in the game late. It wasn’t as big of an effort as it was against the Bills, but considering you didn’t have any healthy linebackers, it was a valiant effort.

Yet the coaching staff will tell you that there are no moral victories in the NFL. They would be right. There will be time to process this and to address what could have been done differently to get a different result. However, the game didn’t feel that way. It felt like you were undermanned and sidelined for most of the game. The Packers take this 24-22, but it should have been more lopsided than that.