When the Green Bay Packers traded Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets, it meant that they were committing, at least in the short term, to Jordan Love being their starting quarterback. A two-year contract that Love signed in the offseason ensures that he will be in Green Bay through 2024, unless the Packers offer him a bigger extension for a longer period of time.
Before the season began, general manager Brian Gutekunst and president Mark Murphy told the media and fans that they would not make a decision on a new contract for Love until at least eight games into the season. After eight games, though, Green Bay was just 3-5 and had just snapped a four-game losing streak. Many wondered if Love really was the long-term answer for the Packers.
Since then, though, Love and the young pass catchers around him have shown remarkable growth. As it stands, the Packers have won three of their last four games and are 5-6, just one game outside of the NFC Playoff picture.
Talks of a possible extension have begun again, at least among fans on social media. After all, Rodgers got his first extension from the Packers midway through his first season as a starter.
And as it turns out, Love’s numbers, in many ways, equal or are incredibly close to Rodgers’ in 2008.
Jordan Love and Aaron Rodgers Have Similar Numbers in Their First Seasons as the Starting Quarterback of the Green Bay Packers
All offseason and throughout, it has been said that it is unfair to compare Love to Rodgers. After all, the two are/were in two completely different situations. Rodgers took over a Brett Favre-led team that made it all the way to the NFC Championship game. He had numerous veteran weapons such as Greg Jennings and Donald Driver to help him grow and find his feet as starter.
Love, on the other hand, took over a Rodgers-led team that went 8-9 and missed the playoffs. Furthermore, the Packers’ front office decided to let every single one of the established pass catchers on the team walk in free agency. Instead, Love has had second-year wide receivers Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs along with rookies Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Luke Musgrave, and Tucker Kraft as his key pass catchers.
When one considers the vast differences in the two situations, one might assume that Rodgers would easily have the better numbers and record between the two. However, Love has matched or is very close to Rodgers’ numbers in nearly every way:
Quarterback | Aaron Rodgers (2008) | Jordan Love (2023) |
Completion % | 63.5% | 60.5% |
Passing Yards | 2,599 | 2,599 |
Touchdowns | 17 | 19 |
Interceptions | 9 | 10 |
Passer Rating | 90.5 | 87.4 |
Record | 5-6 | 5-6 |
As seen in the table above, Rodgers and Love both have 2,599 passing yards through their first 11 games in their first full seasons as the Packers’ starting quarterback. Rodgers threw one less interception while Love has thrown two more touchdown passes.
For weeks, Love has been criticized for his low completion percentage. However, his last three games have seen him and his young pass catchers start to click and his completion percentage has been steadily climbing. As a result, his passer rating has started to climb as well.
As many may remember, the 2008 Packers went 1-4 in their final five games to finish the year 6-10. The 2023 Packers, though, have a very favorable schedule for the remainder of the season and are gunning for a playoff spot.
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