KC Chiefs Well Aware of Jordan Love’s Progress Entering Week 13 vs. Packers
For one reason or another, Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers still have yet to face each other in an NFL game despite the matchup being scheduled multiple times. The 2021 season was one of those examples, with Jordan Love stepping in for the former Green Bay Packers superstar and making the first start of his career against the Kansas City Chiefs. To say it wasn't the most promising debut would be accurate.
Completing 19 of his 34 pass attempts, Love threw for 190 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His 69.5 passer rating reflected an overall underwhelming night for a Green Bay offense that scored just seven points overall. Kansas City needed just 13 points to secure the win at home, sending Love back with plenty to learn from.
Two seasons later, Love's team is serving as the host for a Sunday Night Football outing at Lambeau Field. When recently asked about his thoughts on love then versus now, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was complimentary of the 25-year-old.
“A world of difference," Reid said. "He’s playing really good football right now. You start looking at his numbers, and they’re up there these last few games here. He’s done a nice job.”
Speaking on Thursday, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo echoed the same sentiment.
"I've seen a lot of progress, but I will say this: Even when we played him in 2021 in that game, I was impressed with him coming out of that game," Spagnuolo said. "I never thought he got rattled. We played really well defensively and we had some success. They scored the one at the end, and I give them a lot of credit for that. I came out of that game saying that he had something. You couldn't rattle him, and I thought we could [have]. I've seen him progress through that and now, I think they're kind of hitting their stride..."
Now in his fourth season in the NFL, Love is finally getting the full experience of life as a starter in the league. With Rodgers having departed for the New York Jets, that opened the door for his protégé to assume the role he previously held for a decade-plus. The results have been mixed, as the Packers are currently 5-6 but have won three of their last four games. Love himself has thrown for 2,599 yards with 19 touchdowns to 10 interceptions, good for an 87.4 passer rating. With that said, he ranks 11th in EPA per play and has been playing a better brand of football as of late.
In that aforementioned four-game stretch, Love has completed 65% of his passes while averaging just under 277 yards per game and boasting a four-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio. Additionally, among quarterbacks to log at least 50 plays over that stretch, his EPA per play has skyrocketed to third in the league. It's no coincidence that Love's good performance is happening alongside the team winning at a better clip. Mahomes said he got to watch a good chunk of the Packers' Thanksgiving game, and he's taking notice of Love's improvement.
“Jordan has gotten better and better every single game," Mahomes said. "He’s always had the talent, but when you get more and more reps – I mean he didn’t play for three years basically – so he’s gotten more and more reps, you can see how much more comfortable he’s getting. They have playmakers everywhere, and their defense can play. They’ve got a lot of guys that can play football. It will be a great challenge for us, and they’re a hot football team that just beat another great football team so they have confidence coming in. We’ve got to match that confidence and try to find a way to win a football game.”
Most will look at the betting trends or records for this week and assume that it's a foregone conclusion that Kansas City will shut Green Bay down. With it being a Packers home game and the team playing much more inspired football, though, there's plenty of room for an upset to brew. Defensive tackle Chris Jones is in lockstep with the rest of the Chiefs organization, acknowledging that this isn't the same Love they faced in 2021. This quarterback and this team deserve respect.
“He’s been progressing ever since they gave him the opportunity to get the starting job," Jones said. "He learned a lot under Aaron Rodgers and kind of has some of his mechanics. Their team is on a roll, I think a three or four-game winning streak. Matt LaFleur is a heck of a coach and that offense is rolling.”
