One of the biggest questions heading into the 2023 season surrounds Packers first-year starting Quarterback Jordan Love.

He started off the Preseason with a solid performance against the Cincinnati Bengals and today I will break down his performance from Preseason Week 2 against the New England Patriots.

Jordan Love’s Stat Line

Starting with the box score, Jordan Love dropped back 9 times (10 if you count the early snap/fumble from Josh Myers), completing 5 of 8 passes for 84 yards and 1 touchdown. He scrambled for another 11 yards, as well. He only played 3 series in the game, capping off his night with a 19-yard touchdown to rookie WR Jayden Reed.

Slow Start

The night started a little slow for the Packers first-team offense. Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon ran the ball effectively on the first drive before an early snap-turned-fumble recovery by the Patriots at the GB 18-yard line. The second drive went 10 plays as the unit started to move the ball before fizzling out and ending with a Daniel Whelan punt.

A missed opportunity on that second drive came on a play-action bootleg where Love tried to thread the needle to rookie TE Luke Musgrave. If you look at the clip below, you can see that the nickel defender reads Love’s eyes and breaks on the ball forcing Love to throw it further behind his intended target.

Instead, though, Love could have moved that defender with his eyes and lofted the ball overhead to Romeo Doubs who had a step on his defender with plenty of open space near the sideline.

On the third drive, however, Jordan Love and Romeo Doubs kickstarted the unit with a 42-yard completion bringing them to mid-field and leading to an eventual touchdown. Let’s start the Jordan Love analysis there…

Film Breakdown

Jordan Love to Romeo Doubs – 47 yards

The aforementioned kickstart, this 47-yard completion on a go-route to Romeo Doubs got the Packers offense in gear on their third possession. Jordan could have placed the ball a little further downfield to hit Doubs in stride, but the ball placement was generally good.

For Doubs, you’d like to see him get back on his line after beating the CB on his release. As you’ll see below, Doubs gets even with the defender, but rather than pressing to get back a straight line upfield he continues to drift towards the sideline. Getting back on his line would give Jordan Love more of a throwing window toward the sideline.

Jordan Love to Jayden Reed – 19 yard Touchdown

Finishing his night, Jordan Love lasered a 19-yard touchdown to Jayden Reed. While the throw was top-notch, something else stood out to me on the play that gave me even more optimism for the future of the young Packers QB.

The play call was a play-action pass where Jayden Reed ran a crossing route. Love stood tall in the pocket, progressing through his reads and hanging on long enough for a passing window to open. The part that wowed me was how he looked off defenders to open that window to Reed.

As you can see in the clip above, Love freezes the Safety by looking subtly right to where Romeo Doubs was trailing Reed on an In-route. The Safety not only froze, but actually took a false step towards the middle of the field which took him entirely out of the play. The result — a well placed bullet to Reed who finished strong for the touchdown.

Kudos also go out to A.J. Dillon who came sharply out of his play fake to pick up a blitzing defender. Dillon drove the blitzer into the ground which bought vital time for Love to stand in the pocket and deliver a strike.

Putting It All Together

Through two Preseason games, Jordan Love has been solid. Nothing too flashy, but nothing too horrid either. His talent continues to show in moments, but we won’t know until live bullets are fired during the Regular Season.

I, for one, am optimistic about the path that lies ahead. There will inevitably be ups and downs, but the young nucleus of this Packers Offense is showing their talent and signs of growing chemistry. If they can minimize mistakes, or at least avoid making the same mistake twice, the Packers will compete in the NFC North and for a playoff birth.

Make sure to swing by next week for more analysis on the Preseason Week 3 matchup between Green Bay and Seattle. Subscribe to Green Bay Football Corporation on YouTube, your support is greatly appreciated and helps bring more analysis and content like this to Packers fans around the world.