The 2023 season was all about Jordan Love for the Green Bay Packers. Win, lose or draw – playoffs or not – everything coming into this campaign is centered on love. The Packers traded him in the 2020 draft, beginning a growing rift between the organization and future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The split culminated in the Packers trading Rodgers to the New York Jets that offseason.
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst traded Rodgers, hoping Love could be “the man” to replace the Hall of Famer who replaced the Hall of Famer (Brett Favre). Everything revolved around whether or not Love could be the heir apparent, and now, after 15 games, it’s pretty clear that Love could be the franchise quarterback. Heand will likely never reach the level of Rodgers or Favre, but with a 219-yard, two-touchdown, zero-catch performance against the Carolina Panthers, Loveand’s suitability has never been more apparent. The Packers are 7-8 and in the playoffs. They are definitely on the bubble and this team is very flawed, but it has become clear that Love is the future at quarterback for the Packers.
With a young offense that includes Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, Christian Watson, Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave, Green Bay’s future has probably never been brighter (at least on defense). The fact that Love is in the playoffs for the Packers is a huge win for the Packers because of the likelihood that he will be a useful quarterback, let alone a good quarterback. The win against Carolina was Loveand’s eighth game of the season with a passer rating above 100, and his 27 catches tied for third in the league with Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills) and Jared Goff (Detroit Lions). In fact, Love trails San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy (29) by just two touchdowns and Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott (30) by three. Good#039; is probably a top-10 quarterback in his first year as a starter in the league. Even if the Packers end up missing the playoffs, that fact alone is a huge win for a Green Bay organization that took a big chance by moving on from Rodgers, maybe a year or two too soon.
