For years, one of the biggest question marks and mysteries in the NFL was around Jordan Love. The former Utah State quarterback was a surprise first-round pick by the Green Bay Packers. Many felt that the Packers should have gone with a receiver to help out Aaron Rodgers rather than betting on a player that, let’s face it, didn’t exactly play the best competition in the Moutain West.
For the next three seasons, Love sat behind the future Hall of Famer and was, in a way, his apprentice learner. Even during this time, there were many critics wondering why the Packers were investing so much in a kid who hadn’t really proven anything on the field.
Finally, after three long seasons of being a backup, Aaron Rodgers left the Packers and signed with the New York Jets. It was finally time for Love to show what kind of quarterback he could be, and his season did not go as expected.
Jordan Love was Average to Start
Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Through the first nine games of the season, Jordan Love was very average, or perhaps even below average. In those nine games, Love had six games where he threw under 60% completion rate, 14 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and an unimpressive 3-6 start. At that point in the season, the fans and media were very loud with their claims that they were right about Jordan Love and that the years of him backing up Rodgers were a waste.
Then something switched.
Top 5 Quarterback Finish
The final eight games of the season and two postseason games looked absolutely nothing like the first nine games. After having most of his games under 60% for the first nine games, Love never had another game below 60%, in fact, he had four games where he threw above 70%. He had 23 touchdown passes and only three interceptions. His passing yards also went up, from 201 yards per game to 235 yards per game. That may not seem the most impressive improvement, but teams tend to pass more when trailing, and the Packers went 7-3.
Overall, the 32 touchdown passes were enough to have Love finish second in the league, and his 4,159 total pass yards were enough for seventh. Considering that most of the production came in the second half of the season, Love really did play at the caliber of a Top 5 QB in the NFL.
Expectations for 2024
Going into 2024, nobody is making fun of Jordan Love. He is known and considered a true franchise-style quarterback who can and should make his team to a high seed in the Playoffs. If Love plays at the same level as he did to finish out the season, over a 17-game regular season, he could put up statistics that look like the following:
- 4000 Passing Yards (Just regular season)
- 39 Passing Touchdowns
- 2 Interceptions
- 12-5 Record
If Jordan Love puts up any kind of stat line that even resembles those numbers, not only will Love be considered one of the top QBs in the league, but he could also be under serious consideration to get the MVP award.
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