Acme Packing Company
Twas the week before Toyotathon, and all through Green Bay, not a critic was bashing Jordan Love, at least for a day.
Despite windy conditions that resulted in multiple missed field goals, consistently tough drops from his wide receivers, and a non-throwing shoulder injury that forced him out of the game and into the locker room, Love looked like a quarterback capable of carrying his team through adversity in a 27-20 win over the New York Giants.
The traditional box score numbers look solid, but nothing awe-inspiring. Love completed 13-of-24 passes for 174 yards, two scores, and zero interceptions for a 105.2 passer rating. But of those nine incompletions, at least five or six of them looked to be dropped passes from his receivers, including some brutal ones from the usually reliable Romeo Doubs, and a missed deep shot that went through the hands of Christian Watson.
However, despite all of the missed opportunities, Love still made some big plays and took plenty of chances, cutting through the wind with an average depth of target of 11.6 yards while averaging a very strong 0.39 EPA per play.
Love also continued to shed the narrative that he isn’t clutch. With his team facing a one-point deficit in the fourth quarter, the Packers QB led a 7-play, 65-yard drive that ended on a perfect 17-yard touchdown pass to Christian Watson, being placed in the exact spot for his receiver to make an incredible catch for the go-ahead score.
Despite narratives that Love can’t step up when it matters most (cough cough Rex Ryan cough), the Packers quarterback completed 4-of-6 passes for 72 yards and what would be the game-winning touchdown on that pivotal drive.
Along with proving that narrative to be nothing short of ridiculous, Love also showed fans just how tough he really is, coming back into the game despite that shoulder injury he suffered in the first half. When asked about the injury, Love admitted that it wasn’t a fun one to play through and that it required an X-ray while in the locker room.
The Packers still have *a lot* of questions to answer about this team if they want to be taken seriously as Super Bowl contenders. However, the blame can’t be placed on Love, who continues to show why the front office and coaching staff were so comfortable moving on from Aaron Rodgers a few seasons ago to see what their first-round pick could do as the starter.
