Packers QB Jordan Love Has Chance to Crush Two Preseason Over/Unders
GREEN BAY, Wis. – From a sportsbook perspective, expectations for Jordan Love were so low that the bar had to be lowered to meet them.
When FanDuel Sportsbook posted quarterback over/unders in May, Love’s totals were set at 3,400.5 passing yards and 22.5 touchdowns. When those odds were updated in early July, Love’s totals dropped to 3,325.5 yards and 21.5 touchdowns.
With 13 games down and four to go, Love entered Week 15 ranked fifth in the NFL with 23 touchdown passes and 12th with 3,074 yards.
That means Love already has hit the over on touchdown passes. If Love can throw for 252 yards against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, he’ll shoot past the yardage total, as well.
In fact, Love is on pace to throw for 4,033 yards and 30 touchdowns.
For sake of comparison, when Aaron Rodgers replaced Brett Favre as the team’s starter in 2008, the future four-time MVP threw for 4,038 yards and 28 touchdowns during a 16-game season.
“We said at the beginning of the year Jordan has backed up Aaron for three years and, at some point, you have to go out and play,” quarterbacks coach Tom Clements said recently. “I think he worked at what we asked him to do. He’s a kid that listens, tries to do what you want him to do but, at some point, you have to go out there and actually do it. He’s gotten experience. He’s gotten better as the season has gone on.”
Love was coming off a red-hot stretch that helped the Packers win three in a row. However, he and the rest of the offense struggled through a disappointing loss to the Giants. His 218 passing yards were his fewest since the loss at Denver, and his one touchdown pass snapped a streak of four consecutive games with at least two.
In the Week 1 win over Chicago, Love averaged 9.1 yards per attempt. The next six games ranged between 5.6 and 6.8. The five games after that, spanning the win over the Rams through the win over the Chiefs, Love ranged between 7.2 and 8.8 yards per attempt. Against the Giants, he averaged a season-low 5.6.
But he took advantage of good field position and led the Packers to the go-ahead touchdown.
“Obviously, it wasn’t my best game so far, a lot of things weren’t going right, and I just kept telling myself, ‘Move on. On to the next play. Keep that positive mindset that I’m going to make the next play,’” Love said. “The defense was able to get us the ball back and that last drive we were able to finish it, put some points on the board. But, obviously, too little, too late.
“But I think it’s good to just be able to see the offense finish a drive right there at the end, take the lead back. But there were so many things, just missed opportunities, that would have put the game away earlier. So just learn from that, grow from it.”
Entering Week 15 against the NFC South-leading Bucs, Love has the sixth-shortest odds to lead the NFL in touchdown passes at FanDuel and the third-shortest odds to lead the league in interceptions.
