Struggling Packers face unbeaten Texans

HOUSTON (AP) — The Texans are enjoying the kind of start in the NFL that Green Bay had last season. And the Packers seem to be running into the same kind of bad luck that's always plagued Houston.

While the Texans (5-0) are building off last year's 10-6 record, the Packers (2-3) come into Sunday's game hardly resembling the team that won its first 13 games and finished 15-1 in 2011.

Aaron Rodgers is not close to the form that won him the league's MVP honor last year. He's been sacked 21 times, and he's quickly running out of playmakers around him. Leading rusher Cedric Benson is lost for at least eight weeks with a sprained left foot, Pro Bowl receiver Greg Jennings has missed two games with a groin injury, and tight end Jermichael Finley hurt his right shoulder in the 30-27 loss to Indianapolis last Sunday.

Green Bay squandered a 21-3 halftime lead against the Colts, two weeks after losing 14-12 in Seattle when replacement officials made an incorrect call on a reception in the end zone on the final play. A loss in Houston would put the Packers at 2-4 for the first time since 2006, Brett Favre's second-to-last season with the team.

"Ultimately, you have to have a short memory in this game," Packers linebacker Clay Matthews said. "We let one get away from us last week, but we still have all the pieces of the puzzle and look forward to hopefully getting a victory this Sunday."

The Texans have been the league's most balanced team, and their defense, even without star linebacker Brian Cushing (on injured reserve with a torn left knee ligament), could give Green Bay fits. J.J. Watt is a force not only as a pass rusher with 7½ sacks, but as a pass blocker. He's been compared to a basketball center swatting away balls.

"You're not going to get a sack on every play or on most plays," Watt said. "So you find ways to do other things to help, and that's something I can do."

The Atlanta Falcons will also try to remain unbeaten when they host the Oakland Raiders. The Falcons have never started 6-0.

Oakland comes off a bye, but was awful in a 37-6 loss at Denver before that. The Raiders have been outscored 72-19 on the road. This is a long trip, and Atlanta's plus-10 turnover margin leads the NFL.

"We have an offensive mentality in terms of what we're doing defensively," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "We're attacking the football."

Atlanta is off next week, so a victory here would make for a sweet break.

The New York Giants travel to the San Francisco 49ers in a rematch of the NFC championship game in January that the Giants survived in overtime before beating New England in the Super Bowl. The 49ers have upgraded their offense and are just as formidable on defense, while the Giants haven't found the overpowering pass rush that catapulted them to the NFL title.

This one could be won on the ground, where San Francisco ranks first in yards gained as Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter each are averaging 5.4 yards an attempt, and backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick is contributing in the wildcat.

New York's Ahmad Bradshaw rushed for 200 yards last Sunday to enliven the Giants' run game. But Cleveland's defense hardly resembles San Francisco's.

Also on Sunday, it's; Dallas at Baltimore; Denver at San Diego; New England at Seattle; Minnesota at Washington; Detroit at Philadelphia; Buffalo at Arizona; St. Louis at Miami; Cincinnati at Cleveland; Indianapolis at the New York Jets; and Kansas City at Tampa Bay.

The week's action began on Thursday, with Tennessee beating Pittsburgh 26-23 on Rob Bironas' 40-yard field goal as time expired.