Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers improved to 3-5 on the 2023 NFL season after defeating the Los Angeles Rams 20-3 on Sunday afternoon. While the defense certainly deserves a ton of credit for holding the Rams to three points (yes, Los Angeles had Brett Rypien in at quarterback instead of Matthew Stafford, but it was a great performance nonetheless), Love and the offense deserve a great deal of credit as well.
For weeks, especially during the Packers’ four-game losing streak, there has been a great debate amongst fans over whether or not Love is good enough to be Green Bay’s starting quarterback for years to come. The detractors point to Love’s low completion percentage, questionable decision-making at times, and the offense’s struggles as reasons the Packers should move on.
Those who have defended Love, including former players like Gilbert Brown, Donald Driver, Brett Favre, Kurt Warner, and LeRoy Butler, have pointed to the inconsistent play of the offensive line and wide receivers as bigger issues. Their argument has been that if these issues were cleaned up, Love would look a lot better and, perhaps, people would see that he is not the big problem that critics think he is.
On Sunday, Love proved his defenders right.
The Green Bay Packers Offense Did Not Do Jordan Love Any Favors in the First Half
Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
The Packers’ offense did something against the Rams that it had not done since their Week Two matchup with the Atlanta Falcons: score a first half touchdown. Aaron Jones found the endzone in the second quarter, giving the Packers a 7-0 lead and snapping a five-game streak of scoreless first halves.
Despite this small victory, the offense could not get out of its own way. Dropped passes and numerous penalties on the offensive line, namely two offsides calls against right guard Jon Runyan Jr., stalled drives and forced Green Bay to punt. A lot of these calls came just after Love and the offense had found a rhythm and were starting to move the ball well.
The inconsistent play and mental mistakes affected Love’s play. In the first half, he completed 8/13 passes for 68 yards’ not exactly earth-shattering numbers.
Love’s supporting cast got off to a rough start in the second half, too. Dontayvion Wicks and Jones each fumbled in the third quarter. The defense, however, did their job and kept the Rams off the board. Then, midway through the third quarter, the offense stopped getting in its own way and everything started clicking.
Jordan Love Was Brilliant in the Second Half
Perhaps this should not be a surprise. After all, Love is the best second-half quarterback in the NFL. However, the entire offense’s performance in the second half against the Rams was much, much cleaner (after the two fumbles).
Christian Watson and Love connected on a long pass; Love hit rookie tight end Luke Musgrave for two 20+ yard passes, including a touchdown; and the offensive line did not commit nearly as many penalties.
As a result, Love went 12/13 for 160 yards and the aforementioned touchdown in the second half. On the day, Love was 20/26 for 228 yards, a touchdown, and a 115.5 passer rating.
Jordan Love May Never Be Prime Aaron Rodgers, but the Green Bay Packers Don’t Need Him to Be
One of the biggest mistakes that many have made this season is comparing 2023 Jordan Love to prime Aaron Rodgers. Prime Rodgers may be the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL, or at least belongs in that debate. Love, in his first year as a starter, is not on the level and may never be.
Another major error detractors have made is not realizing that Rodgers (like Favre before him) had a plethora of savvy veterans surrounding him on offense that did not make the mistakes young players make. Donald Drive and Greg Jennings were each 1,000-yard wide receivers in 2008 and the offensive line was among the best in football.
Love has not had that luxury. He has a wide receiver room full of only first and second-year players and three rookie tight ends. Additionally, Love has had to watch his team’s best veteran weapon, Aaron Jones, miss numerous games with a hamstring injury.
In other words, Love has not been given the supporting cast a young quarterback needs to succeed, and the blame for that lies on Brian Gutekunst. But even Gutekunst could not have foreseen the absurd number of injuries to key players the Packers would have to deal with in 2023.
However, the youthfulness of the team means that they are growing. Their inconsistent first half continued to display the same issues fans have had with the team. However, their [mostly] clean second half showed just how good they can be when they are not committing penalties or dropping passes.
No, the Packers do not need Love to be their third-consecutive Hall of Fame quarterback; they need the players around him to play smart football.
They did that in the second half, and Love put up big numbers. If they can build off this performance, and Love can start throwing passes that won’t get dropped, and if Coach LaFleur continues to commit to the run game, Green Bay may end up with a decent season after all, and will certainly have a very bright future.
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