Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers are set to face the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round on Sunday. The Packers come into this game having lost their last two games of the regular season, finishing with an 11-6 record. While Love and a high-powered Green Bay offense should be a tough out, there are concerns about just how viable of a threat they pose in the NFC.
Only three of the Packers’ 11 wins this season came against teams with a winning record. As such, Green Bay is a 4.5-point underdog against the Eagles. Nick Wright, though, thinks there is more pressure for Love to deliver than Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Nick Wright Brought Up Jordan Love’s Contract Ahead of Playoffs
In a recent segment on “First Things First,” Chris Broussard talked about how Hurts has to play better than Love as the Eagles have a real shot at winning the Super Bowl. He also mentioned that a loss to the Packers could get Nick Sirianni fired.
On the other hand, Wright thinks Love’s reputation is under more pressure due to last year’s playoff performance, which began with a bang but ended with a brutal interception. He pointed out how the Packers signed the 26-year-old quarterback to a four-year, $220 million extension this past offseason following the team’s win against the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Round.
“I think it’s clearly Jordan Love because some people, maybe even some people at this table, think he’s the best quarterback in the NFC,” Wright said. “So, he also got paid because of really, what he did in this round last year under these circumstances.”
“If he loses this game, his coach might get fired.”@Chris_Broussard explains why Jalen Hurts is under more pressure than Jordan Love: pic.twitter.com/VArY7muIyI
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) January 8, 2025
The Fox Sports analyst mentioned that the Packers, the seventh seed last season, went to Dallas — while the Cowboys were on a 16-game home winning streak — and won 48-32.
Love finished that game with 16-of-21 passing for 272 yards and three touchdowns with a passer rating of 157.2. He also came close to leading his team to another shocking win against the San Francisco 49ers in the next round before disaster struck.
In two playoff appearances, Green Bay’s franchise quarterback has thrown for 466 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions, completing 67.3% of his throws with a passer rating of 108.6.
Can Love, Packers Pull Off Upset?
While Wright thinks Love is under pressure, the consensus is that the Packers are playing with house money, suggesting that they have nothing to lose as the underdog.
Misfortune will only further stack the odds. Green Bay will be without starting receiver, Christian Watson, who tore his ACL in Week 18. Love also suffered an elbow injury in the same game but is expected to be healthy for the matchup against Philadelphia.
The Eagles played the Packers in Week 1 and came away with a 34-29 win. Philadelphia has been great on both sides of the ball for most of the season, with Saquon Barkley headlining what’s been smooth sailing to the No. 2 seed.
The Eagles have also one of the best defenses this season, as they finished the regular season ranking second in points allowed per game (17.8), 10th in rushing yards (104.2), first in passing yards (174.2), and first in total yards (278.4)
Hurts also has a better supporting cast on offense than Love. Losings in the Wild Card Round with Barkley, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and a strong offensive line is a far worse crime than not pulling off an upset on the road.
PFN’s QB+ metric sees Hurts as the league’s fourth-best quarterback in 2024, with Love ranking 13th. With a strong showing, Love could turn that mark on its head, rather than receding to a tier of more average quarterbacks.
The Packers may turn to running back Josh Jacobs to do the heavy lifting and limit Philadelphia’s chances. If he gets going, it will open up the field for the likes of Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, and Dontayvion Wicks, with whom Love can light up any defense in the league.