Ranking the Packers’ Jordan Love Among NFL Starting Quarterbacks
GREEN BAY, Wis. – By the numbers, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love is the best passer in the NFL. He’s No. 1 in the NFL with a 118.8 passer rating.
By the numbers, Love also is one of the worst. His 55.8 percent completion rate is better only than the Cleveland Browns’ struggling Deshaun Watson (55.1) and the New York Jets’ Zach Wilson (54.2), whose mistake-prone play as the second pick of the 2021 NFL Draft is why they acquired Aaron Rodgers from the Packers.
Those disparate numbers show up in how Love is viewed by the experts. In a series of quarterback rankings through Week 2, Love is anywhere from fourth to 26th.
Love was superb at Chicago in Week 1. He was excellent for most of three quarters at Atlanta in Week 2, as well, but went 0-for-6 and botched a critical quarterback sneak in the fourth quarter as the Packers coughed up a 24-12 lead and lost 25-24.
“Just go back and watch the film the next day,” Love said of evaluating his play. “Just judging it play by play, taking it one play at a time, critique myself on every play, drop, read, ball, accuracy, things like that. We do a good job in the quarterback room with Tom (Clements) grading us on every play, on all those, decision making, timing, accuracy, all those things. There’s definitely a lot you take into consideration. It’s not just stats. Obviously, wins and losses go into that, too.”
A big week awaits against the New Orleans Saints, who have one of the top defenses in the NFL.
Through two weeks, Love’s six touchdowns vs. zero interceptions are a huge reason why he has the best passer rating. He’s also benefited from a lot of YAC. Highlighted by Aaron Jones’ two explosive gains at Chicago in the opener, Love’s average completion has picked up 7.69 yards after the catch. Only one quarterback is within 1.10 yards of that figure.
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Here is where the pundits rank Love alongside the NFL's other quarterbacks.
CBSSports.com: 4th
Cody Benjamin’s rankings are based on “right now.” With six touchdowns and zero interceptions, Love right now is the only quarterback with more than three touchdown passes but zero interceptions.
USA Today: 8th
Love is quite the study from an analytical stats perspective through two games. In terms of Expected Points per play, he is the No. 1 quarterback in the NFL. On the other hand, his completion percentage is 8.6 points worse than the typical quarterback.
Pro Football Network: 16th
Dalton Miller called Love’s Week 1 performance against the Bears “legitimately spectacular.” As part of a longer synopsis, Miller wrote coach Matt LaFleur “is scheming guys open, the young weapons are making plays, and Love looks very comfortable in his new role. Maybe the Packers are onto something with drafting a QB high behind an established, or even Hall of Fame, starter.”
NFL.com: 17th
Love fell three spots in Nick Shook’s rankings. As part of a much more expansive analysis, Shook wrote: “He excelled on a drive in which he fed Jayden Reed, connecting with the rookie for a touchdown. He also was nearly intercepted by A.J. Terrell, botched the aforementioned sneak and failed to salt away a game Green Bay likely wishes it had back. In total, Love still threw for three touchdowns, but he just didn’t quite have enough good moments to move up the rankings.
Sports Illustrated: 18th
That's a few spots behind Derek Carr, who will lead the Saints into Lambeau Field.
The 33rd Team: 18th
Derrik Klassen’s commentary might not be “sexy,” but “Love plays within the timing of the offense well, and he’s shown some excellent ball placement two weeks in a row. A few miscommunication errors and inconsistencies have ruined opportunities for the offense.”
The Ringer: 21st
Of the 34 quarterbacks in Steven Ruiz’s rankings, Love ranks first in Expected Points per play, 15th in Success Rate and 32nd in Completion Percentage Over Expectation.
Pro Football Focus: 26th
You can read about PFF’s “Analytical Quarterback Rankings” model here.
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