When the Green Bay Packers were 2-5, general manager Brian Gutekunst stated that Jordan Love had a “very important 10 games” remaining to end the season. It was something a general manager would say because he had to. Even if he still believed in love, few people did at the time.
It wasn’t like Love was playing great when the Packers were losing. He played a significant role, if not the primary role, in the Packers’ disastrous record.
When was the last time a quarterback completely altered the narrative surrounding his future in just a month?
Love has come to life, as have the Packers. They scored a major shock on Sunday night, defeating Kansas City -19. The Packers hung on in a chaotic last two minutes as the Chiefs attempted to score and tie the game. Love extended his remarkable hot streak, tossing three touchdowns and appearing like a completely different player than we saw in the first two months of the season.
The Packers are 6-6, and their next schedule is quite light, with no opponents above.500 remaining. Unless there is another 180 in their season, they will most likely make the playoffs. It’s an impressive turnaround for the squad, headed by the quarterback who battled to replace Aaron Rodgers throughout the first two months of the season.
Of course, other circumstances contributed to Love’s dramatic improvement. The offensive line has fared much better. Christian Watson has gotten healthy and has been making plays, so it was upsetting to see him depart Sunday’s game in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a hamstring issue. The Packers’ defense performed well against the Chiefs and appears to have improved.
But the most crucial reason in a quarterback-centric league is Love, who has gone from maybe having a foot out the door to entirely turning around his season — and the Packers’ season as well.
Jordan Love had another big night.
If there was one play that exemplified the shift in Love and the Packers, it was on fourth-and-1 in the third quarter.
A month ago, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur may not have had the confidence to go for it. But he did it on Sunday.
Green Bay’s play was well defended, so Love heaved one up with his back foot. And it landed in Romeo Doubs’ lap for a 33-yard gain. Following Watson’s second touchdown, the Packers scored. It was a fantastic play by a quarterback who hadn’t had many huge plays in seven games.
Love made a lot of important throws Sunday. The Chiefs’ defense is unquestionably the finest of the Patrick Mahomes era and one of the best in the NFL, but Love found receivers all over the field. He played with confidence, which he lacked throughout the 2-5 start.
If you watched Love’s first game of the season against the Detroit Lions, his three-interception performance against the Las Vegas Raiders, or when he and the Packers scored 17 points in a loss to the Denver Broncos or 10 points in a loss to the Minnesota Vikings, you wouldn’t have predicted Love to emerge as an exciting potential cornerstone weeks before Christmas.
That’s why the Packers made it clear that he still had 10 games to make an impression. It only took him five.
The Chiefs rally after halftime.
The Packers had a near-perfect first three quarters. Love was dealing. The defense kept the Chiefs out of the end zone in the first half. However, when Mahomes found Noah Gray for a score early in the fourth quarter, the Packers’ lead was only 21-19. It was a dangerous situation for the Packers to have Mahomes lingering around so late in the game.
The Packers needed to shut down the Chiefs. In a similar situation earlier in the season, Love failed to put together the one drive the Packers needed against the Atlanta Falcons, allowing them to come back and win in the fourth quarter. But Love is maturing, and he orchestrated a pair of key drives to help Green Bay increase its lead.
Love started the offense on a touchdown drive that took up a lot of time in the fourth quarter. The Packers were backed up on a second-and-16, but Love found Doubs for 27 yards. They got into the red zone and then were sacked. The Packers had to settle for a field goal, giving them a 24-19 advantage. Mahomes had 6:03 left and needed a field goal.
That’s when Mahomes made a massive interception. He overthrew Skyy Moore, and it was intercepted by cornerback Keisean Nixon. Green Bay then picked up some first downs to run down the clock. The Chiefs made a stop, but the Packers were in field goal range and expanded their lead to eight points with 1:09 remaining. Anders Carlson, a rookie, made a dramatic 48-yard field goal.
Mahomes had one more chance to tie, but he didn’t have timeouts and needed a score and a two-point conversion. A controversial personal foul for a hit on Mahomes near the sideline before he was out of bounds netted the Chiefs 15 yards. The Packers appeared to have recovered Rashee Rice’s fumble, but Rice was ruled down after a review; however, the Chiefs lost 15 yards and Isiah Pacheco was ejected for throwing a punch. The Packers then had a controversial no-call for pass interference downfield on Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
