There was no better way to start the Jordan Love era in Green Bay than to thrust him straight into the NFL’s oldest rivalry in Week 1. For the first time since 1992, the opening game for the Green Bay Packers would have a starting QB other than Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre or surefire Hall of Fame QB Aaron Rodgers. An offseason of uncertainty and optimism for Green Bay and Chicago, for many different reasons — Green Bay with their new QB1 and Chicago with hope for an improved Justin Fields. Not to mention the hope among Chicago fans that Jordan Love might not be the guy, which led to a confident and loud Bears fanbase across social media.
For the Bears, and the Chicago faithful, things did NOT go as planned, however. Cheeseheads around the world had their hopes rewarded with a good first outing from Jordan Love. While he wasn’t perfect, Jordan Love showed Green Bay and NFL fans that he was ready for his shot and that the moment wasn’t too big for him.
Jordan Love’s Stats
Love went 15 of 27 passing for 245 yards with 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. At a glance, his 55.6% completion percentage is less than stellar. You could tell there was still work to do getting on the same page with his young pass catchers, all of whom are rookies or second-year players. That group includes WR Christian Watson who missed the game with a hamstring injury and WR Romeo Doubs whose snaps were limited as he, too, is recovering from a hamstring injury. That recovery didn’t keep Doubs from pulling in 2 of Love’s 3 passing touchdowns, though. Include 2 drops from his backs, and you can easily see that completion percentage climbing into the 60s.
When it mattered most, Jordan Love was up to the task. On 3rd and 4th down, Love completed 8 of 10 passes for 141 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also ran the ball 3 times for another 12 yards, picking up a first down on one of his 3rd down carries. Another of his carries took the Packers from a 3rd and long to a 4th and manageable which they turned into a 35-yard touchdown pass to RB Aaron Jones. Oh, and all of that equates to a perfect 158.3 Passer Rating.
Highest Passer Rating in the NFL
Love led the lead in Passer Rating in Week 1 with a 123.2 overall. A big factor in that rate — the low rate of pressure he faced. The Packers Offensive Line allowed pressure on only 16.7 % of dropbacks for Love and gave up only 1 sack, a pressure rate that was the lowest any QB faced in Week 1. That certainly helped the young QB, but take for example Steelers QB Kenny Pickett. Pickett was pressured on just 19.6% of his dropbacks, but still only produced a 68.4 Passer Rating. On top of that, his Passer Rating adjusted by Sports Info Solutions (their Independent Quarterback Rating (IQR) only accounts for things within the QB’s control) lowered his rating to 58.2 IQR whereas Loves increased to 126.3 IQR.
Not Just Dinks and Dunks
For further context, it isn’t as if Love was out there throwing nothing but short, high-percentage throws. Jordan Love’s Average Depth of Target (aDoT) was 10.6 per PFF, which was 5th highest of any QB with more than 1 attempt. For comparison, Justin Fields on the other sideline had a 3.6 aDoT, and Falcons QB Desmond Ridder (who the Packers face in Week 2) had a 3.2 aDoT.
Fields Rated Higher?
All of that considered, though, PFF still had Justin Fields rated with a higher offense grade albeit a very slight difference — Fields 60.9, Love 60.8. I know Fields’ run grade, 80.2, carried his overall grade, but the Packers’ defense kept him pretty well in check. Fields only ran the ball 9 times for 56 yards, an average of 6.6 yards per carry and he coughed up a fumble to add to it. Love was credited with 3 carries for 12 yards, one of which got the Packers from a 3rd and long into a 4th and manageable situation. The following play, a 51-yard TD to Aaron Jones — although Jones deserves the credit for that one.
From a purely passing perspective, Jordan Love was, without doubt, rated higher than Justin Fields — 57.7 to 49.4 respectively. Feel free to call me a “homer”, but a 57.7 rating still feels a little low to me. I suspect some of the miscommunications with his receivers (which will sort itself out over the course of the season) weighed into Love’s rating.
PFF’s Sam Monson expressed that the fumbled Y-Leak play was “severely underthrown” which leads me to believe that not only that play but also the missed corner route to Musgrave both counted against Love. The latter of those plays fell squarely on Luke Musgrave if you ask me. The field was wide open if he kept that route upfield rather than cutting that corner route more towards the sideline where S Jaquan Brisker came back into play. You can see more of that particular play in the video below as well.
Overall, Jordan Love looked poised and fully in control of this Green Bay offense in Week 1. It was by no stretch of the imagination perfect, but it was an impressive performance in certain aspects nonetheless. I’m not sure there’s much more I would have asked to see from Love to start out the season. As Matt LaFleur would say in coach-speak, there’s plenty to clean up, but for the rest of us… there’s plenty to be optimistic about, too.
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