The Green Bay Packers had an amazing season but now it has finally come to an end in a nail biter with the San Francisco 49ers. Jordan Love’s first season as a starter comes to an end as well as he made quite an ill advised throw across his body that got intercepted with 30 seconds left in the game for the Packers to fall short 24-21.
Jordan Love had played a great game and if not for a missed field goal, the Packers would have a great chance at winning that game and going to the NFC Championship. Sadly, Love made the worst play of his game when the Packers could not afford it. Even though Green Bay is in their off season now, they have a lot to be optimistic about for their future as they have their franchise guy… Again!
Jordan Love has been one of the best quarterbacks this year and made huge strides throughout the year. He absolutely embarrassed the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round and proved himself again in the divisional round giving the Packers a real chance to win that game.
Love finished the season as one of the best in the league statistically and he looked like the better quarterback in both of his playoff games against two quarterbacks who were thought of as MVP candidates. Even though Green Bay lost the game they are going to be good for a while again! It is truly shocking that they now have their man at quarterback right after Aaron Rodgers leaves.
Love was sitting on the bench just waiting for his opportunity to be the leader of this team as he was quoted before that game:
“It’s definitely something that I was waiting for and dreaming of,” Love added. “And it definitely is everything that it’s living up to be.”
He is now going to be the leader of this franchise going forward and Green Bay is thrilled to have him.
In the first season with out future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay looked unbelievable. By every stat and by the playoff production Love had a better first year as a starter than anyone in Packers history, obviously including the two legends that came before him in Rodgers and Brett Favre. Love shined in the post season other than that last throw and he played like one of the best in the league throughout the year.
Over the final eight games, Love completed 70.3% of his passes and was second in touchdown passes (18, one behind Dallas’ Dak Prescott) with only one interception. If you compare Loves stats as a first year starter to that of Rodgers, Love beats him in every category.
On the season Love finished with with 32 touchdown passes, second to Prescott’s 36, and raised his completion percentage to 64.2% while throwing for 4,159 yards. Rodgers in his first year as a starter in 2008 had 63.6% completion percentage with 4,038 yards, and 28 touchdowns in one less game. Rodgers team also did not sniff the playoffs while this Jordan Love team was a few plays away from an NFC championship.
Love did all of this in his first season as a starter with the youngest team in the NFL, and super young receivers. In fact, there was a different Packers weapon who led the team in each month of the NFL season as Love was using every single weapon he at at his disposal.
Love will look to build on this season and the chemistry he built with all the young receivers but his start has been better than two Hall of Famers. Forget just Rodgers first season, Love played better this year than Rodgers did in his last year with the team, and for Green Bay fans, this is a huge blessing as they have another elite player at the quarterback position for years to come.
