The Green Bay Packers delivered the first huge upset of the NFL playoffs with a dominant 48-32 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. The Packers were led by first-year starter Jordan Love, who delivered a playoff debut for the ages to give Green Bay its first playoff win in three years.
Love tossed three touchdown passes and finished with 272 passing yards and a 157.2 passer rating. That marks five consecutive games with a passer rating above 109 for Love. He did not throw an interception during that span.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur was fired up by Love's performance and made sure to give his QB the credit he deserves. A simple two-word remark was enough to get a sense of how LaFleur feels about Love.
“F*****g stud,” LaFleur said, per Albert Breer.
That's about as good a way as any to describe what Love has become in his first season as a starter in the NFL. Living in the shadows of Aaron Rodgers for three straight seasons couldn’t have been easy for Love, but like Rodgers, he bided his time and took off with the starting job once it was given to him.
Love did something that Rodgers couldn’t do in his first season as the Packers starting QB: take Green Bay to the playoffs. He did even more by fueling a Packers win as they became the first seventh seed to win a playoff game.
Doing it all on the big stage
To Matt LaFleur, Jordan Love did more than just sling passes on Sunday. He did everything that you'd want a quarterback to do in a playoff game, especially in his debut. He didn’t turn the ball over nor did he force many throws and felt confident and comfortable enough to make calls at the line with the play clock winding down.
Love's first touchdown pass of the day is the perfect example. He changed the protection after reading the Cowboys' defense out of the huddle, then delivered a beautiful pass where only Dontayvion Wicks could get it.
“He saw a zero blitz right away, maxed it up, and Tucker [Kraft] did a great job, the O-line did a great job, and he allowed the routes to work because usually you can't hold up that well when somebody all-outs you,” LaFleur said. “They did, and that allowed him to get that extra hitch—and then the catch by Wicks was a hell of a play.”
“He is playing at such a high level. Like, he is playing at an MVP level.”
It's hard to argue with LaFleur given where the Packers were a month ago. Green Bay was 6-8 entering Week 16, essentially making the rest of its games must-win. They did win those games, thanks in large part to Love, and with a playoff win to boot, it's not crazy to say the Packers have the most confident QB left in the playoffs.
If there was still any doubt that Jordan Love is the Packers franchise quarterback, he put all of that to rest on Sunday. The Packers have another stud signal-caller under center. Can he deliver a championship to Green Bay like his two predecessors did?
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