We now live in a post-Aaron Rodgers world, and that means Cheese Nation will be turning to a new star to lead the Packers offense moving forward.
As of the Packers preseason debut versus the Cincinnati Bengals, that starting QB hole will be filled by Jordan Love. Love was drafted by the Packers in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft, from Utah State, and has started only one regular season game in his career so far.
That will, barring a star-studded preseason stretch from backup rookie QB out of Penn State Sean Clifford, very likely change.
In the first preseason game versus the Bengals to which the Packers won 36-19, he partook only in the first two drives, then sat the rest of the game. However in those two drives, especially the second one, he did so much in so little time.
On drive number one he threw 2/4 on 14 yards, in a relatively pedestrian start to the game. He did a very good job of moving out of the pocket and making quick reads however, which is a recurring theme through his short window of playing time tonight.
On the second drive, his play went up to another level. He threw 5/6 on 32 yards and a very well placed touchdown pass through traffic to Romeo Doubs. Love also made multiple impressive throws on the run throughout this drive, which is expected of him.
What wasn’t expected however, was how fast he got these passes out of his hands. Nearly every pass he threw this drive was done in less than a few seconds, one of them being a third down conversion a few yards out. He got the ball out so fast, the camera was late to pan to the target on the play.
I must mention that regardless of all of this, I would be lying to you if I didn’t mention how well the offensive line blocked for him, which is an even greater sign for things to come.
Love seems very comfortable out there, even under pressure, the ability to move and stick the ball in-between defenders, into the hands of his inside targets is impressive. In this entire performance for Love, he didn’t make many if really any bad reads in the pocket or on the move.
You may be reading this thinking about how it’s just a preseason game versus the Bengals second string, and that this isn’t anything Rodgers didn’t do in his sleep for the Packers in his 15 seasons as the starter.
You’d be right to think that way, however Love’s performance is at least a small glimpse into what is seemingly a positive future for the Green Bay Packers offense going forward. In conclusion I will give this first preseason outing from Love a solid 9/10.
