It's not easy living in the shadow of one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the sport, and this is the exact situation Jordan Love has found himself in as Aaron Rodgers' heir apparent for the Green Bay Packers.

Love didn't exactly do himself any favors with a rather disappointing performance in the Packers' 28-21 preseason loss against the San Francisco 49ers on Friday. The 23-year-old ended up turning over the ball on three straight drives, which does not bode well for his outlook for his second season with Green Bay.

After the game, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur quickly came to the defense of Love. The 42-year-old shot caller pointed out that the embattled quarterback isn't completely to blame for the errors (h/t McQuade Arnold of Wisconsin Sports Heroics):

“I think two of those you can totally take off him,” LaFleur said of the first two interceptions that bounced off receivers’ hands. “The third one, we had two busted routes because the ball really shouldn’t have gone there on that play, but he had nowhere else to go with the football, and he forced it in there and the defender made a good play. We’ve just got to clean up everything around him.”

LaFleur then sent out a reminder about the harsh reality quarterbacks like Love live in:

“We say it all the time about quarterbacks, they’re going to get too much credit when we do well and they’re going to get a lot of the blame when we don’t, and that’s just the reality of playing that position in this league,” LaFleur continued. “But I was pleased with Jordan’s performance.”

It wasn't exactly an eye-popping showing, but it wasn't bad at all as well for Jordan Love. The former first-round pick still has a couple of games to show his worth as the front office continues to assess his standing with the team. It also goes without saying that there's going to be a lot on the line this season for Love.