Packers QB Jordan Love Was Almost Perfect in Second Half vs. Rams
GREEN BAY, Wis. – For most of his debut season, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love has endured rocky first halves before getting going in the second half.
That trend continued – partially – on Sunday. Love’s second half indeed was better than his first half. But this time, he at least had a decent first-half building block as the Packers snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Los Angeles Rams 20-3 on Sunday.
During the first half, Love was 8-of-13 passing for 68 yards. With zero touchdowns or interceptions, his passer rating was 75.2. But at least the Packers scored, with Jonathan Owens’ sack/strip turning into Aaron Jones’ 3-yard touchdown run.
The second half, however, was superb.
In playing perhaps the best stretch of football of his career, Love completed 12-of-13 passes for 160 yards. With one touchdown and zero interceptions, his rating was 143.6.
Added together, Love finished the day 20-of-26 for 228 yards, good for a passer rating of 115.5. It was his best day of the season by percentage (76.9) and second-best by yards per attempt (8.77). It was his first 100-rating day since Week 2; in four of the previous five games, he failed to even get to 75.0.
While the Rams’ offense didn’t have a prayer without quarterback Matthew Stafford and right tackle Rob Havenstein, they were mostly full strength on defense. As was the case with Green Bay and Quay Walker, the Rams played without their standout inside linebacker, Ernest Jones. Otherwise, the Aaron Donald-led unit was intact on Sunday.
Thanks to Love’s efficiency and the best rushing output of the season the Packers finished with a season-high 391 yards. It was their first time surpassing 340 yards in a game.
“I think it’s exactly what we needed,” Love said. “It’s been a couple tough weeks, weren’t able to finish the games off. To come out here and put it together in all three phases, we were able to make some plays. We know it’s not perfect – it’s never going to be perfect – but just the position we were able to put ourselves in and come out with a win is going to help us.”
Jordan Love's passer rating by half in 2023: 67.0 in the first half, 92.8 in the second.
Photo by Wm. Glasheen/USA Today Sports Images
The Packers scored only 20 points. But, unlike past games, it was hard to blame Love for the struggles via inaccurate passes and bad decisions.
Midway through the first quarter, the Packers lined up offside on a successful fourth-down sneak. Midway through the second quarter, the Packers again lined up offside on a successful fourth-down sneak.
Then, the second half started with Dontayvion Wicks and Aaron Jones fumbling away the ball on consecutive possessions.
Those four drives reached, respectively, Green Bay’s 41, Green Bay’s 49, Los Angeles’ 42 and Green Bay’s 36.
However, Love and Co. finished strong. On the team’s final five possessions, the Packers went field goal, punt, field goal, touchdown and eight plays to run out the final 2:32.
It wasn’t Dolphins vs. Broncos-level dominance, but it was a big step in the right direction.
RELATED: Weekly comparison between Rodgers in 2008 and Love in 2023
“When we needed it, especially down the stretch, I thought he made some plays and, hopefully, we can build upon that,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “Obviously, every time out, it’s going to be a learning experience, and there’s going to be plays you want back.
“I’ve never seen a quarterback go through a game and it’s been a perfect game. I know there’s been games that guys have perfect ratings, but nobody‘s going to be perfect. So, I think as long as we can continue to build upon the things that he’s done well and learn from the mistakes that are made, there’s a lot of good that can come out of that.”
Love’s only incompletion in the second half was a throwaway on third-and-long.
The Packers need this to be a steppingstone for Love rather than just a solid stretch of quarterback play. While they snapped their losing streak, they extended their streak to six consecutive games of 20 or fewer points. That’s tied for the team’s longest such streak dating to Brett Favre’s arrival in 1992.
At seven games and counting, only the Giants have a longer 20-and-under scoring streak this season.
Bigger challenges await. While the Rams have a good defense, up next are games against the Steelers (13th in scoring, third in takeaways), Chargers (23rd in scoring, 31st in yards), Lions (14th in scoring, fifth in yards) and Chiefs (second in scoring, fourth in yards).
“That’s the name of the game and that’s something that I think we’ve struggled at doing – finding ways to win the close games, the tough games, and just grind out and finish it,” Love said. “It’s not easy in the NFL to get a win, so anytime you can get it, we’re going to cherish it.
“But that’s the thing that going forward we just have to keep building on, keep growing and keep finding ways to win those tough games. We’ve been put in some positions where we haven’t gotten the outcome we wanted and there’s a lot of things to learn and grow from. There’s probably going to be a lot more close games. We’re going to be put in the situations that we’ve been put in in the past and we’ve just got to find a way to get the outcome we want and find a way to finish those games and get a win.”
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