Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love has become the focal point of the entire organization and its fan base, garnering attention even from the most prominent Hall of Fame players associated with the team.
On Sunday, January 21, former Packers quarterback Brett Favre expressed his admiration for Love through social media. Favre lauded Love for his outstanding season and a competitive playoff campaign, which featured an impressive road victory against the Dallas Cowboys and a close loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round on Saturday.
“Great game, heartbreaking loss for my Packers. I believe I speak for all Packers fans when I say, ‘We are incredibly proud of you and can’t wait to see what the future brings.'” Favre wrote. “There’s plenty to be enthused about. Jordan, keep your chin up; I believe you have the potential to be the best Packer quarterback yet. Congratulations, 49ers.
Great game and tough loss for my Packers. I’m sure I speak for all packer fans when I say “we are very proud of you and can’t wait to see what the future holds”. Lots to be excited about.Jordan keep your chin up because I believe you can be the best Packer QB yet.Congrats 49ers
— Brett Favre (@BrettFavre) January 21, 2024
Jordan Love Already Stacks Up Well Against Packers Greats Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers
In his inaugural season as a full-time starter and his fourth year in the NFL, Jordan Love showcased his prowess by amassing an impressive 4,159 passing yards in 2023. Drawing a parallel to Packers legend Aaron Rodgers, who, like Love, spent his initial three years as a backup, Rodgers didn’t assume the role of a full-time starter until his fourth NFL season.
Love’s passing yardage in 2023 surpassed Rodgers’ inaugural year as the Packers’ starting quarterback in 2008 when he accumulated 4,038 yards. Furthermore, Love outperformed Rodgers in terms of both touchdowns and interceptions, throwing for 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2023, compared to Rodgers’ 28 touchdowns and 13 interceptions 15 years prior. Notably, Love’s passing yardage last season exceeded the total yards Rodgers produced in 12 out of his 19 NFL seasons.
It’s worth highlighting the contrasting debut performances of Love and Rodgers as starting quarterbacks for the Packers. While Rodgers had a 6-10 record in his first year as the starter, Love led the team to a 9-8 record, including a playoff victory against the Dallas Cowboys and a close defeat to the San Francisco 49ers.
Brett Favre, a fellow Packers icon, made an immediate impact in his debut season with the team in 1992, earning a Pro Bowl nod. Favre’s illustrious 20-year NFL career, which included 19 seasons as a starter beginning in 1992, saw him throw more interceptions in 18 of those 19 seasons than the 11 picks recorded by Love in the impressive 2023 campaign.
Jordan Love Makes Costly Mistake Late Against 49ers
Regrettably, Love’s impressive performance streak that extended from the end of the regular season, culminating in a stellar display on Super Wild Card Weekend in Dallas, where he achieved a nearly perfect passer rating, came to an end in San Francisco on Saturday. Love’s statistics for the game included completing 21 of 34 passes for 194 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions, the latter occurring in the final minutes and marking the conclusion of Green Bay’s playoff run.
This error was atypical for Love, considering his excellent play in the preceding weeks. In his last nine games, which encompassed the team’s final eight regular-season matches and the playoff win against the Cowboys, the quarterback had only thrown one interception.
Addressing the costly turnovers against the 49ers in his postgame press conference on Saturday night, Love acknowledged the mistake, stating, “I don’t know if I had an opportunity to be able to run, maybe get out of bounds. But [I forced] it across the middle late, which is a mortal sin, and it cost us.” He expressed a commitment to learning from this experience and improving in the future.