GREEN BAY, Wis. — Brandon McManus insisted he hadn’t planned to do a “Lambeau leap” if he made a winning field goal in his Green Bay Packers debut.
But when he kicked a 45-yard field goal as time expired to give Green Bay a 24-22 victory over Houston on Sunday, McManus couldn’t help himself.
He jumped into the corner of the end-zone stands to celebrate with the Lambeau Field crowd.
“I figured it’d be cool to do that,” McManus said. “I definitely need to work on my hops. I don’t practice jumping that much anymore.”
Green Bay (5-2) overcame three turnovers to win its third straight and snap Houston’s three-game winning streak.
“It wasn’t perfect, definitely was not perfect,” said Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who went 23 of 31 for 214 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. “A lot of mistakes. But we found a way to win, and that’s what it’s all about.”
McManus’ kick represented the latest chapter in an eventful year for him.
He had been out of a job since the summer, when two women sued him and the Jacksonville Jaguars in civil court alleging he sexually assaulted them when they were working as flight attendants on the Jaguars’ trip to London last year.
The NFL said late last month it didn’t find sufficient evidence that McManus violated the personal conduct policy. Lawyers representing McManus and the women said the civil case had been resolved.
The Packers released rookie Brayden Narveson and signed McManus on Wednesday, trusting the 33-year-old veteran’s reliability. McManus has made over 90% of his career field-goal attempts from less than 50 yards, while Narveson had gone 12 of 17 without attempting any from beyond 49 yards.
McManus answered the call Sunday.
Even after the Texans called timeout as he attempted his first kick, McManus delivered the second time. Packers holder Daniel Whelan did a nice job getting the ball down for McManus after fielding a low snap.
“I always want a practice kick if I can,” McManus said. “It was a little windy today, just seeing where the wind might move the ball.”
Houston’s Joe Mixon rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. Ka’imi Fairbairn was 3 of 3 on field-goal attempts and put the Texans (5-2) ahead by making a 35-yarder with 1:44 left.
C.J. Stroud was just 10 of 21 for a career-low 86 yards and was sacked four times in a game that had seven lead changes.
“Obviously, we didn’t pass the ball well all day,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “So, it wasn’t good all the way around. We ran the ball well. I thought Joe did a good job running the ball. We needed to pass it. It was not good enough, starting with the protection. If we can’t protect, then that’s going to be difficult for the quarterback to make the plays.”
Houston still nearly pulled off what would have been a remarkable victory, considering all the players the Texans were missing.
The Texans didn’t have five defensive starters with tackle Mario Edwards Jr. serving a suspension while linebackers Azeez Al-Shaair and Henry To’oTo’o, cornerback Kamari Lassiter and safety Jimmie Ward were out with injuries. Houston also played without injured receivers Nico Collins and Robert Woods, as well as receiver/punt returner Steven Sims.
Houston was seeking its first four-game winning streak since 2018, when the Texans won nine in a row. The emotions of this game were evident even before the opening kickoff, as Texans receiver Stefon Diggs exchanged words and shoves with Packers cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Keisean Nixon.
The Texans built a 19-14 halftime lead by scoring 16 points off three Packers turnovers.
Josh Jacobs put the Packers ahead midway through the third quarter when he got his first career touchdown catch — on the sixth-year pro’s 212th overall reception. Jacobs had the NFL record for most career catches without a touchdown reception.
“It was long overdue,” Jacobs said. “We talked about it all week at practice that, ‘Man, this is the week that we’re going to get (it).’ We had like three or four plays in the red zone for me.”
But the Packers went three-and-out on their next three possessions, allowing the Texans to come back again on Fairbairn’s last field goal. Green Bay trailed 22-21 when it got the ball at its own 30 with one timeout remaining.
“It’s a two-minute drive, we need a field goal, we know what we need to do,” Love said. “So the mindset is just go win the game.”
The Packers were at midfield when Love hit Romeo Doubs for a 13-yard gain. An offside penalty on Houston’s Will Anderson brought the Packers 5 yards closer. After a 6-yard completion from Love to Doubs got Green Bay to Houston’s 26, the Packers called a timeout with 3 seconds left to set things up for McManus.
“He’s a vet,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “You can see it. The moment’s not too big for him. Obviously that was a big-time kick.”
Packers LB Quay Walker left in the first half to get evaluated for a concussion after teammate Kingsley Enagbare’s leg inadvertently hit him in the head at the end of a play.
Texans: Host the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday.
Packers: Visit the Jacksonville Jaguars next Sunday.
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