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Seven plays that defined Jordan Love’s breakout season for the Packers

  • Rob Demovsky, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 15, 2024, 06:00 AM ET

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      Rob Demovsky is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Green Bay Packers. He has covered the Packers since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2013. Demovsky is a two-time Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the NSSA. You can follow him on Twitter at @RobDemovsky.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — At some point during his first season as the Green Bay Packers‘ starting quarterback, Jordan Love began to convince many that he had what it took to become the team’s long-term replacement for Aaron Rodgers.

It may have come at different moments for different people.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst — with the hindsight of Love’s 32-touchdown, 4,159-yard, playoff-qualifying season — went further back for his epiphanic moment.

“Sometime in 2019,” Gutekunst said after the season.

The GM, who traded up to take Love in the first round of the 2020 draft, quickly admitted he was at least half kidding.

“I think [that’s] one of the things that you just never know until they get out there and handle all the things that a quarterback has to handle at the line of scrimmage and lead his football team,” Gutekunst said.

“I’ve always talked about how there’s usually a progression there where you go from playing, playing well, to winning. He did that in pretty short order in Season 1. Very excited where he can go.”

Gutekunst’s early confidence in Love aside, here is a look at some of the moments — in chronological order — from Love’s first season as the starter that proved he’s here to stay.

Week 9

Opponent: Los Angeles Rams

The play: Fourth quarter (3:41), second-and-7 from Rams’ 20-yard line, touchdown to TE Luke Musgrave

The postscript: According to Musgrave, they had practiced the play exactly one time before coach Matt LaFleur called it late with the Packers leading 13-3 with just under 4 minutes remaining.

Love masterfully pulled off two fakes: first, a screen to running back Aaron Jones, who motioned from the slot right to the left flat, and then a spinning fake to running back AJ Dillon in the right flat. His fakes were Rodgers-esque. At that point, the rookie Musgrave disengaged from his block and leaked out down the middle.

“Yeah, that was a really good playcall, something we kind of just put in this week,” Love said after the game. “There’s options to throw it to both guys, and then Luke’s on a late trickle down the middle. It was a great finish by him, the middle parted open and he had one guy to make miss, and he did it, got his first touchdown.”

The 20-3 win snapped a four-game losing streak and set the Packers on the path toward turning their season around.

Week 12

Opponent: Detroit Lions

The plays: First quarter (15:00), first-and-10 from Packers’ 25, 53-yard pass to WR Christian Watson; first quarter (12:16), second-and-goal from Lions’ 10, touchdown to WR Jayden Reed

The postscript: It wasn’t as much the throw to Watson on the first offensive play of the game (it was actually slightly underthrown) — it was the playcalling gymnastics that went on prior to the game.

“I almost changed that first playcall,” LaFleur admitted after the 29-22 upset win on Thanksgiving. “I was kind of mulling it over quite a bit, and I texted Jordan this morning and told him I was going to change it to something else.”

Love talked him out of it.

That LaFleur acquiesced was another sign of his growing trust in Love.

“It gives you confidence, knowing exactly what you’re starting with, knowing we want to get the ball going and taking a shot right off the bat,” Love said. “Obviously, to come out there and execute it and have a big gain like that was huge.”

That helped set up the 10-yard touchdown to Reed, on a tight-window slant that somehow split Lions defenders.

“I’m not even sure how the ball got in there,” Love said. “But it was great by J-Reed being able to concentrate when there was like three dudes right in that window. For him to be able to concentrate, catch it and finish in the end zone was huge.”

Week 13

Opponent: Kansas City Chiefs

The plays: Third quarter (6:56), fourth-and-1 from Chiefs’ 44, 33-yard pass to WR Romeo Doubs; third quarter (5:23), second-and-goal from Chiefs’ 12, touchdown to Watson.

The postscript: With the Packers clinging to a 14-12 lead midway through the third quarter, LaFleur went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Chiefs’ 44-yard line. Kansas City showed blitz, and even though they backed off, their four-man rush busted through the offensive line, forcing Love to backpedal. Throwing off his back foot, he hit Doubs in stride between two defenders.

“I gotta salute Jordan,” Doubs said after the game. “There might have been pressure up front; probably was pressure up front. Jordan’s got an arm on him, and he put it in a spot where only I can get it — and that’s why Jordan is Jordan.”

Two plays later, the Chiefs did blitz, sending six rushers. Love sensed it, changed the play and put up a ball in the back of the end zone that only Watson could get to.

“They do a really good job disguising their stuff, so you’ve got to always be alert for it, try to pick up on the little tells, little keys,” Love said of the Chiefs’ defense. “On that one to Christian, they did end up bringing it. We got to a protection that picked it up, was able to give me enough time to kind of buy some time, and let Christian work and put it up for him, and he went up there and made a great play.”

It showed just how far Love had come since his first career start against the Chiefs in 2021, a 13-7 loss when he couldn’t handle Kansas City’s myriad blitzes.

Week 15

Opponent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The play: Third quarter (4:18), third-and-14 from Buccaneers’ 17, touchdown to Reed

The postscript: This may have been Love’s best throw on the move all season. Flushed from the pocket, Love stepped up and split a pair of pass-rushers and then rolled to his right. While on the run, he spotted Reed breaking toward the right side of the end zone.

“It was scramble mode and Jordan just stayed with me,” Reed said after the game. “The defender was turned, back was turned towards Jordan, and he made a great throw. He put it only where I could get it.”

Reed got both feet down just before falling out of bounds.

“Once I started scrambling right there, I just kept my eyes downfield and saw Jayden in the back of the end zone, breaking towards that corner,” Love said after the game. “Just put it out there for him and he made a great catch, getting the toes in bounds. Play broke down and I saw him in the end zone.”

The touchdown pulled the Packers within three, 20-17, but they would go on to lose at home, 34-20.

Wild-card playoff

Opponent: Dallas Cowboys

The play: Second quarter (3:23), third-and-7 from Cowboys’ 20, touchdown to WR Dontayvion Wicks

The postscript: Love showed it all on this play. He used the hard count to get the Cowboys to tip their hand that they were sending two extra rushers from the middle. He then used the rest of the play clock to survey the field and stayed in the pocket to deliver the ball to Wicks on a post route against single coverage.

“For him to hang in there and get that throw — and Wicks made a hell of a catch,” LaFleur said after the game. “Those are things that you just can’t necessarily [coach]. You can try to coach it, but what a moment for him. To me, that was a big-time play. It just shows the growth that he’s had from his first start versus KC to now. Just so proud and happy for him. He’s a dude. He is a real dude.”

That score put the Packers ahead 20-0 on their way to a 48-32 win in Love’s first playoff game.

“That’s about all I can say is ‘Wow,'” LaFleur said of Love after the game.


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