Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love has led his team to an impressive season this year. Love recently made his playoff debut and led the Packers to a shocking win over the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Round.
How did Love get to this point in his career after backing up Aaron Rodgers?
Jordan Love’s NFL Career
Love’s Packers career has lasted three years, as the franchise selected him with its first-round pick in 2020.
Love has been sitting behind Aaron Rodgers for the past two seasons and has now stepped up as the team’s starter after Rodgers joined the New York Jets.
The Utah State standout completed 293 of 473 pass attempts (61.9%) for 3,402 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions in 2019, his final year in college. As a junior, he completed 64% of his pass attempts for 3,567 yards, 32 touchdowns, and just six interceptions.
In his first season in the NFL, Love was listed as the third quarterback on the roster behind Aaron Rodgers and Tim Boyle and wasn’t activated for a single game. The Packers went 13-3 and took the NFC’s No. 1 seed, while Rodgers would pick up his third career MVP. Green Bay would fall to the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game.
In 2021, Love appeared in six games as he was Rodgers’ backup.
In the Packers’ regular-season debut, Green Bay was trailing big against New Orleans, and head coach Matt LaFleur put Love in during the game’s final moments. He completed 5 of 7 pass attempts for 68 yards while moving the chains three times.
In Week 9, Rodgers was out with COVID-19, giving Love the start against the Kansas City Chiefs. He completed just 55.8% of his throws during Green Bay’s 13-7 loss to the eventual Super Bowl runner-ups.
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He finished the year completing 58.1% of his pass attempts for 411 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions.
In 2022, Love continued stepping in for Rodgers as needed but saw less playing time than in 2021. He completed 14 of 21 passes (66.7%) for 195 yards, one TD, and no INT across four appearances.
In 2023, Love emerged as one of the best young quarterbacks in the league. In his first full season as a starter, Love was seventh in the league in passing yardage, second in passing touchdowns, and 11th in passer rating.
“Jordan coming in here in 2020, sitting behind Aaron, getting one start in those three years, and you can just tell he learned so much and really [got] ingrained into Matt’s system,” said Packers guard Jon Runyan, who came to the Packers in the same draft class as Love.
In a surprising 48-32 win over the Cowboys in the Wild Card Round, Love completed 76.2% of his passes for 272 yards, three scores, and no picks.
On Saturday, the Packers will now move on to face the San Francisco 49ers, who are still the favorite to win the Super Bowl.
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