The Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys kicked off Wild Card Weekend’s Sunday action with the Packers stunning the Cowboys in dominating fashion. Despite having one of the best defenses in the league, Green Bay nearly scored 50 against Dallas, winning 48-32.
One of the reasons for the Packers’ dominant offensive showing was their quarterback, Jordan Love. How’d he do it?
Jordan Love Shines in Green Bay’s Upset Victory
The game started fast for the Packers, and they never really let up. Scoring the first and only points of the first quarter, the Packers added 20 more points, giving them 27 unanswered to open the game.
The Cowboys scored their first points of the game just before half thanks to a touchdown pass from Dak Prescott to tight end Jake Ferguson.
The Cowboys’ offense was, however, significantly better in the second half, scoring 25 points.
The Packers didn’t slow down whatsoever though, scoring 21 more in the second half. Despite the score being close, the game was a completely different story. The Packers pulled all of their starters in the fourth quarter.
For Love, it was almost perfect. He completed 16 passes on 21 attempts for 272 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. He had a perfect 157.2 passer rating.
“Man, Jordan love, that’s about all I can say — wow,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said. “What a moment for him … So proud and happy for him; he is a dude, a real dude.”
According to Next Gen Stats, Love averaged +1.05 EPA (Expected Points Added) per dropback in his debut. That number was good for the sixth most in a game in the Next Gen Stats era. Love completed all four of his passes under pressure for 114 yards and a touchdown.
JORDAN LOVE DELIVERS. PACKERS UP 20-0.
📺: #GBvsDAL on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/Ut3BRhC2CE pic.twitter.com/NdIftoEEW9— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2024
Love is in his first year starting for the Packers after the team traded long-time starter Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets. In 17 games, Love passed for 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. “We believed in him from the beginning, it’s a process,” running back Aaron Jones said.
Love was drafted in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft but rode the bench for the first three seasons of his career due to Rodgers’ success on the field, winning two MVPs. However, he was always expected to be Rodgers’ eventual successor, and it finally came to be in 2023.
“Jordan Love is a BAD man,” David Bakhtiari said. The Packers’ long-time left tackle. Bakhtiari missed the entire 2023 season due to a season-ending knee injury.
The successful performance from Love continued a history of great playoff debuts for Packers quarterbacks. His two predecessors, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, both found great success in their debuts too.
Rodgers’ playoff debut came in 2009 against the Arizona Cardinals. In that game, he completed 28 of 42 passes for 423 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. He also added three rushes for 13 yards and a touchdown. Despite the performance and 45 points, the Packers still fell to the Cardinals 51-45.
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Favre, on the other hand, had his playoff debut back in 1994 against the Detroit Lions. In that game, he completed 15 of 26 passes for 204 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. The Packers won that game 28-24.
For the Packers, the win marked the first time a seventh seed has ever won an NFL playoff game. The Packers started the season slow, losing five of their first seven games, but they really came on late in the year. Finishing with a 9-8 record, the Packers snuck into the playoffs despite being the youngest team to ever do it.
Additionally, the Cowboys had previously gone undefeated at home in 2023.
However, the Packers are now 6-0 all-time playing at AT&T Stadium, including 3-0 in the regular season, 2-0 in the postseason, and even 1-0 in the Super Bowl.
“Lot of people counted us out, man. This team’s going to keep it going,” Love said after the game.
Now, the Packers are set to face the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Divisional Round of the playoffs. They will travel to Santa Clara, Calif., with a specific date and time yet to be announced.
Want to predict the results of the 2023 NFL postseason with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? How about looking into in-depth breakdowns of team depth charts or the NFL playoff schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with all that and more!