Two seasons ago, Jordan Love started his first career game against the Kansas City Chiefs, filling in for Aaron Rodgers on short notice. Saying it went poorly would be putting it nicely. The young QB wilted against the blitz that day in K.C.
Sunday night, Love flipped the script.
The Green Bay Packers quarterback was sensational, particularly against Steve Spagnuolo’s blitzes, carving up the Chiefs defense for 267 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-19 win.
“It’s huge. For me personally, obviously, I’ve had this game circled for a long time,” Love said via the official transcript. “It was my first start (against the Chiefs in 2021), obviously, I didn’t play how I wanted to the first game, so being able to see these guys again and get the victory is huge. This is a great team win tonight. Everybody just balled out, so it was an awesome win.”
Love’s play against pressure was key to the contest. The QB went 12 of 17 for 100 yards with three touchdowns for a 125.0 passer rating when blitzed Sunday night, per Next Gen Stats.
“I think me personally, it’s just being able to see the stuff,” Love said of his play against the blitz. “I’ve got more reps, I’m more comfortable, understanding where I need to go with the ball. I think the O-line is doing a great job just being able to pick this stuff up. It’s not easy when they’re bringing all-outs, some of these blitzes, things like that, but they’ve been doing a great job giving me time and then receivers, obviously, they’re having awareness of when they need to be open and how long I’ve got and then just going out there and making plays. It’s definitely something we, as a team, practice. We know some teams are going to bring it and we’ve got to be able to execute and go out there and make sure they don’t do it again.”
Obviously, Love has come far since that first career start two-plus years ago. His play has also grown throughout his first full season as the starter.
After a wobbly start to the campaign, Love has surged. Since Week 7, following the Packers’ bye, Love has 14 TD passes, second most in the NFL over that span, behind only Dak Prescott. His increased comfort in the pocket and confidence to see it and let it rip have opened up Green Bay’s offense. He also finally started to connect on some of those deep shots that fluttered woefully to the turf early in the season.
Love’s play has the Packers on a three-game winning streak, including the last two over teams in playoff position (Detroit, Kansas City). After a 2-5 start, Green Bay sits at 6-6 and into the final wild-card spot. Given the team’s play and soft schedule down the stretch (no opponents with a better than .500 record), the playoffs went from a long shot to likely in the past few weeks.
After entering the season with a host of questions and stumbling out of the gate, Love has shown the type of growth, maturity and talent that should have Packers fans thrilled about the trajectory under center.
