A dramatic win doesn't erase the problems the Packers need to fix

GREEN BAY – While the Packers' defense played its steadiest and best game yet in Sunday's win over the Texans, it wasn't just the offense that experienced wild swings with strong and subpar play.

So did the special teams.

Most of the success came from punter Daniel Whelan, who made a major impact on field position, averaging 56.8 yards (51.6 net) on five punts and repeatedly turning the field over when the offense was behind and the ball couldn't move.

Whelan also managed a low snap down and held the ball well so that new kicker Brandon McManus scored the game-winning 45-yard field goal as time expired.

But the Packers made two serious errors on the punt return game that could have very easily cost them a chance to win, and those will be the focus of discussion all week leading up to the team's Week 8 game travels to Jacksonville.

First, Keisean Nixon dropped a high, hanging punt in front of him in the second quarter, and the bouncing ball bounced off blocker Corey Ballentine, giving the Texans a live muff to set up their first touchdown.

Matt LaFleur had not yet spoken to Nixon directly when the head coach met with the media on Monday, but he emphasized that it was up to the punt returner to be crucial in this situation in preventing what happened.

“You have one of two options,” LaFleur said. “You either have to catch the ball or you have to call everyone back and get everyone out of the way.”

Nixon did neither, and disaster ensued.

The second punt return error came from another returner, Jayden Reed. On a booming 66-yard punt in the third quarter, Reed was originally stationed at the 15-yard line and backed up to the goal line to intercept the punt rather than letting it bounce into the end zone.

He ended up being tackled at the 4-yard line, costing the Packers 16 yards of field position compared to a touchback. Green Bay hit a three-pointer and punted from deep in its own territory.

“He just obviously lost track of where he was, because that's a given,” LaFleur said. “You release the ball when you get too far inside the 10-yard line.

“So there are obviously two big mistakes that we need to correct.”

Fortunately, Special Forces successfully managed McManus' midweek arrival and made the necessary adjustments to allow him to become comfortable with placekicking surgery in the short term.

Despite McManus' lack of familiarity and short time in Green Bay, the sideline was full of confidence that the 11-year veteran would put the game-winning goal through the uprights.

“Someone was standing next to Byron (Storer), the assistant special teams coach, and Byron said, ‘Yeah, no problem. He's going to make it,'” LaFleur said. “So yeah, I think we had a lot of confidence in him.”

However, LaFleur would rather not have a game come down to that, especially when a pivotal moment could have been avoided if the offense and special teams hadn't been so up and down all day.

The offense scored three touchdowns and managed the two-minute drive at the end to get into field goal range, but it also went three-and-out five times and threw two interceptions.

That's what LaFleur was thinking about as the game came down to McManus' kick.

“It was unfortunate, I would say, at the moment that we had to be in that situation,” he said. “Often you just recapitulate the mistakes you made or the missed opportunities to put yourself in that position.

“So you never want to put anybody in that position, but I mean a lot of these games are going to end in a last-second field goal. You saw that in the Detroit-Minnesota game too.”