GREEN BAY, Wis. – Dean Lowry was probably the last Green Bay Packers player who expected to play 18 snaps in Sunday’s win over the Houston Texans.

The rookie defensive end didn’t play a snap the previous week against the Eagles, and his snap-count totals in the previous five games were: two, five, five, two and four. That means in one afternoon, the fourth-round pick from Northwestern played as many defensive snaps as he did in the last six games combined.

Lo and behold, Lowry made two impact plays. He recorded his first NFL sack, which came as such a big surprise he wasn’t sure how to react (more on that below) and then used his 6-foot-6 frame to bat down a pass.

All of a sudden, Lowry appears to be in line for more work, especially given that defensive tackle Mike Pennel will miss the final four regular-season games because of a second drug suspension.

“It’s something Dean really has earned,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “He’s been playing single digits as far as his play count to this point. So it’s something we discuss during the course of the week, and, frankly, yes, when he did make a big play there, you want to give these guys opportunities. When they make plays, you’ve got to give them more opportunities. I think Dean is really pushing for more opportunities. So it’s based on the work he gave us [Sunday].”

If McCarthy saw it coming, Lowry did not.

"It's tough to not really know in terms of how much you're going to play going into the game,” Lowry said. “But you always approach the game the same way, whether it's going to be five plays or 30 plays. If somebody goes down, you've got to go in and step up.”

Lowry’s sack came midway through the second quarter on Sunday, when he run past Texans left tackle Duane Brown to the inside and was on quarterback Brock Osweiler before he knew what hit him.

Lowry’s celebration, however, needs some work. Other than a fist pump, he looked around as if he wasn’t sure what to do. After the series, players could be seen giving him a hard time about it on the sideline.

“My first reaction was to celebrate but I didn't know what to do, so I just had a fist pump and just celebrated with my teammates,” Lowry said. “It was really a fun play and I think it really gave us momentum to end the first half."

Lowry’s first sack came on the same day that teammate Julius Peppers ran his career sack total to 142.5, which moved him into fifth on the all-time list.

“I watch him all the time in practice and meetings and see how he carries himself,” Lowry said of Peppers. “So to go out there and watch him get a sack and for me get a sack as well was a pretty cool half out there."