The Texans almost overcome their protection problems and lose to the Packers on a field goal with just a few minutes remaining

On the special teams side, MJ Stewart caught a botched punt at the Green Bay 11 that set up the first touchdown on Joe Mixon's 2-yard run. Fairbairn kicked field goals of 23, 52 and 35 yards. Tommy Townsend hit six times for a gross of 51.2 and a net of 45.7 and four times inside the 20. Dameon Pierce had a kickoff return of 42 yards and Tank Dell averaged a punt return of 12 yards.

Now let's look at the major problems with the passing game, which started with the lack of protection that constantly put pressure on Stroud, who finished 10 of 21 for 86 yards and a 58.8 rating.

Stroud was sacked four times for 31 yards. His average per attempt was 4.1 yards. He was brought down seven times by a defense that had 11 tackles for loss.

The problem certainly wasn't the running game. The linemen did a good job of run blocking. Mixon finished the game with 25 carries for 115 yards (4.6 average) and two touchdowns.

At some point after being forced out of the pocket again, Stroud threw away his helmet on the sideline. End Rashan Gary and linebacker Eric Wilson consistently treated Stroud rudely. Wilson had two sacks and four tackles for loss. Gary had one sack and three knockdowns. He always seemed to have Stroud in the eye as the Packers pulled off an impressive array of stunts, loops and blitzes.

“They charge as a unit,” Stroud said. “We have to defend better and I have to be better at getting the ball out on time. That’s a lot of things.”

“A lot of things didn’t go right on offense. We didn't find the rhythm early on. We missed some (opportunities). I thought we ran the ball well, but (we) just didn't pass in the passing game.”

Dell dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone on the first series and had no receptions despite four targets. Stefon Diggs caught five passes for 23 yards, including a 17-yard gain. Tight ends combined for two catches and 43 yards.

The relentless pressure disrupted the Texans' passing game.

“We didn’t pass the ball well all day,” Ryans said. “It wasn’t good enough, starting with protection. If we can't protect, it will be difficult for the quarterback to make the plays. We need to go back to the drawing board and see what those problems were. Like us.” Watch the film, we will see what happened, starting with the communication and the guys dealing with the details of the assignment.

“They were able to apply pressure, whether it was with the stunts or the blitzes, it affects the passing game. There are no excuses. We have to protect it and we have to make plays.”

Xavier Hutchinson made a great play on his only reception. It was an 11-yard dandy on the Texans' final drive, which started at the 38 after Dell's 13-yard punt return. On third-and-10 at the Green Bay 23, Stroud was flushed out of the pocket but threw a perfect pass down the sideline that a diving Hutchinson caught at the Packers' 12.

Then offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik called back-to-back runs to Mixon, forcing the Packers to use their two timeouts, but they lost 2 and 3 yards, setting up third-and-15 at the 17. Stroud's pass on third down missed the sticks by a wide margin and was incomplete. That set up Fairbairn for his 35-yard field goal and a 22-21 lead.

“I try to make every play that’s called,” Stroud said. “It felt like we were just biding our time and then trying to get a field goal before we finally had to throw the ball in the third and give the ball back to them with about 40 minutes left. I think so.” It was a good plan – I just have to do a better job of executing it.”

At one point, Ryans failed to challenge an incompletion that looked like a reverse pass. The Texans led 10-7 in the second quarter. The Packers rushed to the line of scrimmage and Love connected with Dontayvion Wicks on a 30-yard touchdown pass.

“We didn’t play well enough across the board and didn’t finish the game,” Ryans said. “I praise the Packers. They did it right (and) made the plays when they needed to. For us, it’s just not good enough to play the way we played offensively.”

The Texans need to play better on offense in their next game. The Colts are 4-3 and one game behind. The Texans won the first game of the season in Indianapolis and will be desperate to win on Sunday and win the AFC South series.