HOUSTON (AP) – Brett Favre has almost always sought refuge in football, even when the games provided him little solace from his problems on and off the field.

This season alone, Favre has played with a troublesome left shoulder, a concussion and a softball-sized bruise on his left hamstring, along with a sprained hand and thumb on his throwing (right) arm. He also has had to cope with the death of his 24-year-old brother-in-law and the breast cancer diagnosis of his wife, Deanna, last month.

The Green Bay Packers’ 1-4 start added to his grief, a disappointing beginning for a team Favre believed had a chance to reach the Super Bowl.

Yet just a month after being left for dead, the Packers have won four straight and are tied for first place in the NFC North with Minnesota.

At last, Favre has found something to smile about.

“Family and friends say it looks like I’m having fun again,” Favre said. “Well, it’s no fun being 1-4. There’s no fun in losing. To be laughing and enjoying myself during a game when you’re losing, it’s not going to happen.”

Green Bay (5-4) tries to keep its roll going against the reeling Houston Texans today, a game between two teams headed in very opposite directions. The third-year Texans (4-5) had won four of five games before a couple of lopsided losses on the road against Denver and Indianapolis. Those defeats, by a total of 53 points, have ended all talk of an improbable playoff berth for the third-year team.

Regardless, Texans fans will likely be in a frenzy in anticipation of the franchise’s first prime-time TV appearance since their inaugural game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 8, 2002. Houston beat the heavily favored Cowboys 19-10 that night, and the Texans would like to recreate some of that magic against Favre and the surging Packers.

“The fans have been talking about this game for a while,” Texans quarterback David Carr said. “It’s going to be exciting. We haven’t had it (a prime-time game) since my first year and we had a pretty good day then. Hopefully, we can do more of the same this year.”

The Texans, already one win away from tying last season’s total, will have little chance to break their slide if they can’t protect Carr better or run the ball with more success. Carr has been sacked nine times in the past two games, the Texans’ worst two-game stretch since his miserable rookie year in 2002. They’ve been almost as bad when trying to run, averaging just 3.4 yards per carry – 31st out of 32 teams in the league.

“There are a lot of things I’m not satisfied with,” Texans coach Dom Capers said. “In terms of production there are a lot of things we can do better. We have to certainly eliminate the downside of things we’ve had the last couple of weeks.”

The Texans will be fighting for their playoff lives on Sunday, realizing another loss will all but eliminate them from the postseason race in the highly competitive AFC.

Green Bay could teach them a thing or two about how to rescue a season.

After losing four of their first five games, the Packers won four straight in their quest to become the ninth team to overcome such a start and reach the playoffs.

“I think we had and we still consider our backs against the wall,” Packers coach Mike Sherman said. “I just felt like our players responded to the situation they were in and we just started executing better.”

Favre played well despite his troubles during the monthlong winning streak, but Green Bay really took off when tailback Ahman Green found his stride.

Green recovered from a rough start to rush for 459 yards and four touchdowns – and he’s thrown for a TD on a halfback option – over the past four games, once again making the Packers doubly tough to defend.

“As long as we’re high up there in rushing and people consider us a run-first team,” Favre said, “we’re going to have some plays like we have had in the passing game.”

Considering the Texans’ struggles against Jake Plummer and Peyton Manning the past couple of weeks, Favre should be headed for another big day.

Favre is having fun again, something that should worry the Texans.

“He’s extremely resilient, whether it’s on the field or off the field,” Sherman said. “Things don’t get to him. At least they don’t affect him the way it may affect somebody else. … He can handle all sorts of adversity.”

It’s time to see if the Texans can, too.

AP-ES-11-18-04 2006EST