As the Green Bay Packers walked off Lambeau Field to the groans of fans after losing to the Minnesota Vikings 24-10 in Week 8, the 2023 season looked grim.
Despite starting the season hot, the Packers lost four games in a row. In that span, the Packers were outscored 73-9 in the first half of games, and first-year starting quarterback Jordan Love had thrown for just four touchdowns and seven interceptions. Through seven games, Love had thrown for 1,492 yards with a league-low 57.7 percent completion percentage.
Many had written the season off as a “rebuilding year”. Mock drafts began to circulate on social media, many of which included the Packers drafting a quarterback in the first round. The plan of Jordan Love being the future of the franchise was in doubt.
Despite the rough start, the Packers proved that 2023 wasn’t a rebuilding year. After Sunday’s 17-9 victory over the Chicago Bears, the Packers punched their ticket to the postseason with a 9-8 record, earning the No. 7 seed in the NFC.
In the last 10 weeks, the Packers not only turned their season around but the entire future of the franchise.
Since being selected with the 26th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, arguably no other draft pick has been scrutinized more than Gutekunst’s decision to draft Love. In his first season in the green and gold, Love essentially redshirted as he was inactive every game.
Despite back-to-back years of Aaron Rodgers being the MVP and the Packers earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC, the Packers fell short in the playoffs once again. This led a myriad of fans and media members to express their continued displeasure with the selection of Love. Many, including Rodgers, thought that a wide receiver very well could have propelled Green Bay to a championship.
“Did I wanna, years down the line, go, ‘Well, what if we had just taken somebody who could impact our team because we had just gone to the NFC Championship?’ Yeah, of course,” Rodgers said in an interview with the Athletic about the decision to draft Love. “I don’t think any other competitor would say anything different.”
After an underwhelming 2022 season and a growing tumultuous relationship with the Packers’ front office, the status of Rodgers as the Packers quarterback was up in the air. Things culminated in March when the Packers traded Rodgers, a Super Bowl-winning quarterback and four-time MVP, to the New York Jets. The trade gave Love the reins to the Packers’ offense, making him the first quarterback to start a season for Green Bay not named Rodgers or Favre in 30 years.
Following a promising start to the season, including Love throwing for three touchdowns in an opening day 37-20 beat down the Bears, there was optimism that Jordan Love would be the next great Packers quarterback. However, after the early optimism, the Packers were winless in October, falling to 2-5 on the year. The offense struggled to score in the first half of games, receivers ran the wrong routes and Love consistently missed open receivers. The schedule only got harder in November, and many were looking toward the offseason.
In a press conference on Nov. 1, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst addressed the state of the Packers and expressed his confidence in Love. However, Gutekunst noted how crucial the second half of the season would be for Love and the Packers’ evaluation of him.
“I think we’ve got 10 games left. These are going to be very important 10 games,” Gutekunst said.
But something flipped after the Week 9 loss to the Vikings. The playcalling got more aggressive and players began to make fewer mistakes on the field. But, the greatest catalyst of the turnaround for the Packers season has been Love’s elite level of play in the second half of the season.
Since week 10, Love has completed 69.14% of passes while throwing for 2667 yards, 21 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. In eight of those 10 contests, Love has posted a passer rating over 100.
For Love, the turnaround in his play has come from his poise, getting the ball out quickly and protecting the ball. Love has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the entire NFL down the stretch. In fact, in the final eight games of the season, Love threw for 18 touchdowns and only one interception.
“Jordan has been such a calm presence,” said Packers guard Jon Runyan. “He has complete control of the offense. Everyone looks to him as a leader, and he just goes out there and doesn’t blink at all. What he does, we trust him and what you’re able to see on the field. He’s a great guy. A great person in the locker room and what he’s done for us has been unbelievable.”
Sitting on the bench behind Rodgers for three years wasn’t easy for Love, but after the Week 18 win over the Bears, Packers coach Matt LaFleur praised the patience Love showed the last three years and how it has paid off in his development as a quarterback.
“I know it’s not always easy when you’re a first-round pick, and you have to sit there and watch and wait your turn,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “That’s tough. That’s tough on a lot of guys, but he approached it the right way. He’s been a great teammate. He’s been super supportive in whatever role he’s taken on and he’s excelled in whatever role he’s taken on. It’s really rewarding to see the progress he’s made over the course of these few years.”
After sitting on the bench for three years, Love was thrilled to finally make the most of his opportunity and show the world what he was capable of.
“You want to play in big-time games and, when the pressure’s on, just to be able to go showcase what you’re made of,” Love said. “Definitely being on the bench for those three years and being behind Aaron and wanting to be out there so bad, now that I’ve got my opportunity, just making the most of it, taking it and running with it. That’s the same thing that everyone in that locker room is doing when they get those opportunities. It’s definitely something that I was waiting for and dreaming of and it definitely is everything that it’s living up to be.”
The Packers’ offense finished the regular season sixth in offensive DVOA, with Love throwing for 4,159 yards, 32 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions and four rushing touchdowns.
However, what has been most impressive has been the supporting cast Love has had to work with. The Packers are the youngest team in the NFL, and 31 of Love’s 32 passing touchdowns were thrown to first or second-year players. On top of that, 86.4% of Jordan Love’s yards were to first or second-year players.
In just 10 games, Jordan Love has led a team that seemed to be picking in the top 10 of the NFL draft, to being the youngest team in NFL history to reach the playoffs and the only first-year starting quarterback in Packers history to reach the playoffs.
As “Go Pack Go” chants resounded through the stadium as the Packers left the field after defeating the Bears in Week 18, team play-by-play broadcaster Wayne Larrivee encapsulated the entire theme of the season in three sentences.
“In what many called a rebuilding year in Green Bay,” Larrivee said on the team broadcast. “After all this, it was all about the future, right? Well, for this Packers team, on this day in Green Bay, the future is now, and so are the playoffs!”
Love’s turnaround in performance in the last 10 weeks has proved that he is not just the next franchise quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, but may be on his way to be the next great Packers quarterback to lead Green Bay to a Superbowl title.
