Coming into the season Green Bay Packers fans didn’t know what to expect. For the first time some 1991 they wouldn’t have Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre or future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers under center.
That situation caused some apprehension amongst the cheesehead faithful, who had no idea who they were getting with the surprise 2020 first-round pick who coming into the season had just one career start under his belt.
First-year starter Jordan Love did his best to instill the notion that things would be OK, just give him some time. That’s exactly how it played as the talented former Utah State quarterback led his Packers team to the postseason with a 17-9 season finale victory over the Chicago Bears. The win means Love did something Favre and Rodgers failed to do in their first season as the team’s starting QB. This season Love proved that the Packers brass led by head coach Matt LaFleur made a smart decision in 2020.
In the win Love went 27 of 32 for 316 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. His 84 percent completion percentage shows just how locked in he was for this mammoth game.
Love’s Teammates Rave About Their Leader
In wake of the wild-card-clinching win that evaded them in last year’s season finale, LaFleur was excited to heap praise on his young and steadily rising signal-caller. In his postgame interview the Packers fifth-year coach had this to say:
“He’s just resilient. Those are things you cannot coach. You can sit there and talk about it till you’re blue in the face. However, that’s something he possesses, and I admire him for that, his ability to stay even keel, to battle through adversity, to lead our team.”
Star cornerback Jaire Alexander took things further with his comments.
“I said it back in camp, he’s the best quarterback in the league,” Alexander said. “And he’s been proving it in these past few weeks.”
Love Led Team From 2-5 To Playoffs
At 2-5 things looked bleak for the Packers, but behind Love they won seven of their final ten games to finish 9-8. Not bad for the youngest team in the entire NFL, who now have a trip to face the NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys in the wild card round.
The kid never flinched, and LaFleur never wavered in his approach with him even amidst some midseason struggles, trusting that Love would figure it out.
For the season Love passed for 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions. That’s nearly a 3-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Not bad at all for any NFL starter, but especially one in his first season at the helm.
