Can Improving Packers’ QB Jordan Love Win Shootout vs. Herbert, Goff, Mahomes?
Think back to the start of the Green Bay Packers’ game on Sunday in Pittsburgh.
Steelers running back Najee Harris rumbled in for a touchdown to make the score 7-0 before the Packers touched the ball.
It would have been natural to think the offense would be slated to play from behind the entire game again. After all, the Packers hadn't scored a touchdown in the opening quarter since the Chicago Bears gifted them a short field all the way back on Sept. 10.
Apart from that, their offense had looked like a JV team scrimmaging against the varsity in the first quarter of games this season.
Not against the Steelers. Jordan Love and Co. marched right down the field and capped an impressive nine-play, 69-yard drive with a touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs in the right corner of the end zone.
Trailing 17-7, Love and the offense struck again. Facing a third-and-long on the edge of field-goal range, Aaron Jones motioned to the right of the formation.
The conservative call would have been to have Jones flare out to the right, pick up some blocks and make for a more manageable field goal.
Instead, Love loaded up to throw deep. Jayden Reed raced down the middle of the field and caught a 36-yard touchdown.
Packers rookie WR Jayden Reed catches a touchdown pass at Pittsburgh.
Charles LeClaire USA Today
Overall, Love's day was probably his best as a pro.
To be sure, he did throw two interceptions, one of which was in desperation.
But, for the first time since the first two games of the season, the Packers found some consistent traction in their passing game.
Love built upon his performance from the previous week against the Los Angeles Rams by rolling up 289 yards through the air against a Steelers defense that boasts great players like Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt.
The biggest reason for Love's better play the last two games is he and the receivers are finally connecting on some deeper passes.
Earlier in the year, throwing the ball down the field felt like a fool's errand. The last two weeks, however, Love is 7-for-11 for 230 yards with one touchdown and a passer rating of 128.8 on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield, according to Pro Football Focus.
With a minimum of 10 passing attempts as a qualifier, the only quarterback that has been consistently ahead of Love in deep passing categories over the last two weeks is Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud.
If the season ended today, Stroud might be on the shortlist of MVP candidates.
The progress for Love is a welcome sight after a series of inaccurate and mistake-filled outings made it fair to wonder if the Packers would be willing to move on from him after just one season.
There are still issues that need to be worked out. The Packers are not scoring enough points. They haven’t broken 20 points since Week 2, making for their longest scoring slump in more than 30 years.
They were fortunate to be in those games because they faced the following quarterbacks: the Raiders’ Jimmy Garroppolo, the Broncos’ Russell Wilson, the Vikings’ Kirk Cousins, the Rams’ Brett Rypien and the Steelers’ Kenny Pickett.
Of that group, Cousins is far and away the best quarterback, and he left the game with an Achilles injury.
Garoppolo and Rypien are backups. Wilson has not played as well since being traded to Denver. Pickett has more bad than good to his resume.
The challenge is about to get much, much stiffer.
The next three weeks, the Packers will face three upper-echelon quarterbacks. Justin Herbert and the Chargers will play at Lambeau Field on Sunday. After that, it’s the Lions’ Jared Goff on Thanksgiving in Detroit and reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs back at Lambeau.
Herbert and Goff just engaged in a slugfest in Los Angeles, with the Lions winning 41-38. For comparison's sake, the Packers have scored 39 the last two games.
Mahomes is Mahomes. Even in a year that is down by his standards, he's a threat to score every time he is on the field.
The Lions, Chargers and Chiefs rank sixth, eighth and 13th in the NFL, respectively, in scoring. The Packers, who are 21st in scoring, have faced only two teams inside the top 15 in points: the Lions and Vikings (12th).
The cake-walk ends on Sunday when Herbert strolls into town.
While the two quarterbacks won't be on the field at the same time, it's natural to know who is on the other sideline.
Opposing teams lived in fear that Aaron Rodgers could score 40 points on a given day. Their game-planning and play-calling reflected the belief that they, too, would need to score a lot of points.
"Absolutely," coach Matt LaFleur said when asked if he has to prepare differently when facing a great quarterback.
"I think that's one of the focus that we do as a coaching staff every week is how do we win this game as a team."
The way to win this game as a team is likely to win in a shootout.
The Packers' offense and, specifically, Love have made their strides, but they haven't had to win a game like that this season.
Now, they have three big tests coming up that require them to answer one key question.
Can the Packers keep up?
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