How to Watch Packers vs. Texans in NFL Preseason
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers will kick off the 2021 NFL preseason on Saturday with a home game against the Houston Texans. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
When the teams met in last year’s regular season, Aaron Rodgers vs. Deshaun Watson provided a premier quarterbacking matchup. Rodgers threw four touchdown passes in a 35-20 romp. Watson threw for 309 yards, with team highs of eight receptions and 95 yards by Packers-turned-Texans-turned Packers receiver Randall Cobb.
On Saturday, the quarterbacking matchup could be Jordan Love vs. Davis Mills. Rodgers probably won’t play during the three-game preseason, leaving the quarterbacking duties to Love and Kurt Benkert. Meanwhile, Watson is embroiled in a scandal and is listed as fourth on the Texans’ depth chart. Houston’s other quarterbacks are veteran Tyrod Taylor, rookie third-round pick Mills and former sixth-round pick Jeff Driskel.
As Love gets his first NFL action, getting him going will be a priority for coach Matt LaFleur.
“We’re always trying to put our guys in great position to go out there and we want them to be successful but, at the same time, I know there’s that balance of trying to get too cute or whatever in terms of what we’re going to throw out there,” LaFleur said. “Certainly, I feel like there’s enough all-purpose plays within our plan that we feel good about that he can go out and execute at a high level.”
How to Watch Packers vs. Texans
This game will be broadcast live only on the Packers’ 21-station television network, which has affiliates throughout Wisconsin as well as in eastern Minnesota, northern Illinois, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and even Alaska.
Those stations: WGBA/NBC in Green Bay, WTMJ/NBC in Milwaukee, WKOW/ABC in Madison, Wis.; WAOW/ABC in Wausau/Rhinelander, Wis.; WXOW/ABC in La Crosse, Wis.; WQOW/ABC in Eau Claire, Wis.; WLUC/NBC/FOX UP in Escanaba/Marquette, Mich.; KQDS-TV/FOX in Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis.; WMDB/CBS in Peoria, Ill.; WHBF/CBS in Davenport, Iowa; KCCI/CBS in Des Moines, Iowa; KWWL/NBC in Cedar Rapids/Waterloo, Iowa; KTVI/FOX in St. Louis, Mo.; KETV/ABC in Omaha, Neb.; KNDB/BEK in Bismarck, N.D.; KRDK/BEK in Fargo, N.D.; KNDM/BEK in Minot, N.D.; KDLT/NBC in Sioux Falls, S.D.; KYUR/ABC in Anchorage, Alaska; KATN/ABC in Fairbanks, Alaska and KJUD/ABC in Juneau, Alaska.
Not in one of those markets? An NFL Game Pass subscription will deliver live broadcasts of every preseason game.
Or catch the replay on NFL Network, with airings at 6 a.m. Sunday and noon Wednesday.
Kevin Harlan will handle the play-by-play, former Packers great James Lofton will provide commentary, and former Packers fullback John Kuhn and WTMJ’s Lance Allan will work the sideline.
The game can be heard on the 49-station Packers Radio Network, with Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren on the call.
Coaching Battle
LaFleur is entering his third season as Green Bay’s coach. He is 26-6 with two trips to the NFC Championship Game. Only former San Francisco 49ers coach George Seifert (28) won more games in his first two seasons. On the other sideline, David Culley will make his Houston debut. He spent the past two seasons as Baltimore’s assistant head coach/passing game coordinator.
“What’s important more than that for us is the evaluation process,” Culley said when asked about the importance of winning his first game. “Now, they do keep score, and whoever's in there at the end want to win the ball game, and we feel the same way about that. But the most important thing right now for us is the evaluation process and getting our players in to be able to see where we are and what we need to do to go further.”
Local Line Ties
Packers rookies Cole Van Lanen and Jon Dietzen aren’t the only offensive linemen with local ties. Texans starting left guard Max Scharping is a Green Bay native. A second-round pick out of Northern Illinois in 2019, he played his high school football at Green Bay Southwest.
“I grew up my whole life there, so it's everything. It's who I am. That's where I came from,” Scharping told reporters in Houston. “So, it built me into who I am today. I wouldn't be here without Green Bay.”
Former Packers guards Lane Taylor and Justin McCray are also members of the Texans. They’re coached by another familiar face, James Campen. Campen played for the Packers from 1990 through 1993 and was an assistant coach from 2004 through 2018 – including as offensive line for the final dozen seasons. He is in his first year with Houston.
“I just think he brings a great mentality into the room,” Scharping said. “Obviously, he's been doing this a really long time. He's played at this level himself. So, he knows what it's like, he knows what needs to be done. So just getting us in, getting our mentality -- finish, cover the ball, and make sure we take care of our guy, stuff like that. It's great.”
