The Green Bay Packers are now 8-8 after the 33-10 thrashing of the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night. The win, along with losses by the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons, have put the Packers in control of their own NFL Playoffs destiny. If they can pull out a win in Week 18 against their oldest rival, the Chicago Bears, Green Bay will return to the postseason in their first year sans Aaron Rodgers.
One of the biggest stories of the night, of course, was the stellar quarterback play of first-year starter Jordan Love. Despite a slow start to the season that saw the Packers at 2-5 at one point, Love and his offense continued to improve together to form one of the NFL’s hottest offenses as the season comes to an end.
After throwing for 256 yards and three touchdowns (with no interceptions) against the Vikings, Love now has 3,843 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions on the year. Additionally, Love has a 63.1% completion percentage, a 93.8 passer rating, and four rushing touchdowns.
In other words, Love has established himself as the Packers’ third-consecutive franchise quarterback. With one game left to play, arguably the biggest game of his career, the first in that line of long-time quarterbacks, Brett Favre, released a statement that put the NFL on notice regarding Green Bay’s new starter.
Hall of Fame Quarterback Brett Favre Praises Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers
The biggest question the Packers faced going into the season was whether or not Love would pan out to be their third-consecutive franchise quarterback. Indeed, the main goal (at least, of the front office) was to make sure their future was intact.
Love’s play throughout the season has proven that it is, and as a bonus he has his team on the brink of the NFL Playoffs. With the offense clicking, even without some of its most important pieces, Green Bay will be viewed as a difficult matchup for any team that they could potentially face.
This is the opinion of Favre, who posted the following on X (formerly Twitter):
Congrats to the packers on a big win last night. Jordan love is playing as good as any QB in the league and they can be a dangerous team in the playoffs if they get in.
— Brett Favre (@BrettFavre) January 1, 2024
As mentioned, the Packers will get into the Playoffs if they beat the Bears on Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field.
Is Green Bay Packers Quarterback Jordan Love Really Playing As Well As Any Quarterback in the NFL?
One of the things that Favre says in his post is that Love is playing as well as any quarterback in the NFL right now. Is that really true? Here are how Love’s numbers rank among his peers:
- 3,843 passing yards- 10th
- 30 touchdown passes- third
- 61.5 QBR- 10th
- 93.8 passer rating- 11th
In addition to these stats, Love and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy are the only two quarterbacks in the NFL with eight games of multiple touchdowns and no interceptions. Love’s 34 total touchdowns rank third in the NFL. Only Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills) and Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles) have more.
So, in short, the answer would be a resounding “Yes.” Love is certainly playing as well as any quarterback in the NFL right now.
The future, both immediate and long-term, look very bright in Green Bay.
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2 Comments
It’s also obvious Favre is talking about right now.
If you look at just the last 10 games or so, or maybe everything after the Vikes loss, his numbers across the board are easily top 5 and closer to top 3. In many categories, he leads the league outright over the last 8 games or so. He could very well be the best over that time period.
However, Fields has made a huge leap this year and that Bear defense looks great when I’ve seen it (very limited, but the ends of the last few games). I wish we had their secondary, especially a guy like Brisker.
They should give Love trouble and I’m not sure the Packers get past them, so people better start looking at the scenarios of who needs to lose for them to get in with a loss.
We’ll be rooting against a lot more teams than we’re rooting for the Pack!
Love still has a weak arm, problems throwing the long ball, and dome accuracy problem. He is still a work in progress, and, hopefully, he will improve over time.