The 2024 season didn't get off to the start that Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love likely envisioned. The fifth-year pro miss two games after injuring his knee in the season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil, then played through a nagging groin injury throughout the month of October. The result? Some pretty underwhelming play: Love completed just 61.3 percent of his passes over his first seven games, with 10 interceptions and just 7.58 yards per attempt. The Packers entered their bye week at 6-3, but it was hardly the leap fans expected after last year's playoff run.
Of course, we should've known by now that a slow start wasn't any cause for concern; this is just what Love does. He and the Packer offense didn't hit high gear until the last few weeks of the regular season, carrying that momentum through a Wild Card win against the Dallas Cowboys and a near-upset of the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round.
Maybe he just needed some extra time to finally get healthy. Maybe he just likes when the weather turns frigid. Whatever the reason, Love is once again catching fire with the playoffs around the corner: Since Green Bay came back from its bye week, his completion percentage is all the way up to 68.7 percent, with eight TDs to just one interception (none in his last four games) and nearly 10 yards per attempt. And as if that weren't scary enough, his own head coach thinks that this is just the beginning.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur thinks QB Jordan Love is playing his 'best ball'
Asked about the recent play of his young QB, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur made a pretty categorical statement: “This is the best ball he’s played,” LaFleur said, according to the team’s website. “Just when I look at all the little things.”
Love was a bit more modest, saying that he was playing at a “decent level” while insisting that there's "definitely some stuff I can clean up," but it's hard to disagree with his coach's assessment. Green Bay has scored 30 points in four of its last five games, going 4-1 in that span — the only loss coming in a barnburner against the Detroit Lions in which the Packer offense was just about unstoppable in the second half. He's managed to cut down on the crippling mistakes while still keeping his hallmark aggression, taking shots when they're there and keeping his team on schedule when they're not.
All of which should terrify the rest of the NFC. We know that Love, despite his age, isn't afraid of playing on the biggest stage. And we know that when he gets on a heater, he looks like one of the very best QBs in the entire league. That was nearly good enough to get a very green Packers team all the way to the Super Bowl last season; if his own coach thinks Love is even better now, not even the Eagles' league-best defense might be able to slow him down.