Comparing Jordan Love’s 2023 Stretch Run to 2024

Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love was the NFL’s breakout star last year, thanks to a dominant final eight games. How has he done to start the stretch run to this season?

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love is one of the hottest QBs in the NFL. / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The weather outside is frightful but Jordan Love’s play has been delightful.

Indeed, the Green Bay Packers are Super Bowl contenders because Love is playing like a quarterback capable of beating any team at any location on any day of the week.

While the Packers lost at the Detroit Lions on Thursday, Love dominated the second half. He is on a four-game heater entering Sunday night’s game at the Seattle Seahawks.

Love’s superb performance has flown a bit under the radar because Josh Jacobs is stealing all the touchdowns and so many touches. However, after a mistake-filled and injury-plagued first half of the season, a healthy Love has been inflicting pain on opponents.

Here is a comparison of the final eight games of the 2023 season, when Love took the NFL by storm, and his last four games.

Passer Rating

2023: 112.7 (second out of 32 quarterbacks with 125 attempts). 2024: 118.8 (third out of 32 quarterbacks with 60 attempts).

Completion Percentage

2023: 70.3 (third). 2024: 67.0 (11th).

Yards

2023: 2,150 (first). 2024: 904 (22nd).

Yards Per Attempt

2023: 7.7 (ninth). 2024: 10.3 (first).

Yards Per Completion

2023: 11.0 (17th). 2024: 15.3 (first).

Touchdowns to Interceptions

2023: 18 to 1 (first). 2024: 6 to 1 (10th).

Success Rate

2023: 53.3 percent (third). 2024: 53.8 percent (first).

Love’s three best games in terms of yards per attempt have come in the four games since the bye.

“The first thing is the deep-area accuracy is really impressive,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald told reporters on Wednesday. “His arm talent is really good. He’s just got a really good control of their system and operates their offense really well, plays decisive.

“I think how he extends plays and still gets the ball down the field even when pressured is pretty dang good as well. It’s the first time really being exposed to him on like multiple games and stuff. He’s a really good player.”

After throwing an interception in each of his first seven games before the bye, Love has thrown only one – and that’s when the receiver slipped coming out of his break at Chicago. He has zero interceptions the last three games, and wasn’t even close against Detroit’s ballhawking secondary.

It’s all added up to greater offensive efficiency. In the four games since the bye, the Packers are fifth with 29.8 points per game.

“I always feel like I can put the ball where I want to – and that’s part of it, too, having that confidence to be able to throw those passes,” Love said after Wednesday’s practice. “There’s always like I said a handful of plays that might not come off or be in the exact spot that you wanted it to or the throw might be a little bit off. So, that’s where you’ve just got to try to be at your best every play, be consistent and accurate as possible.”

There are two obvious differences between the end of the 2023 season and the start to the stretch run in 2024. 

One, Love hasn’t thrown as many touchdown passes. Josh Jacobs has scored eight the last four weeks, including three apiece against San Francisco and Detroit. So, while the Packers’ offense has been strong overall, that part doesn’t show up on Love’s stat line.

Second, it’s opportunities overall. Since the bye, Love is 28th with 88 passing attempts. For context, Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow has thrown 188 passes and the league median is 131.

During the final eight games of last season, Love averaged almost 35 passing attempts per game. During the four games since the bye, he’s averaged only 22 as coach Matt LaFleur has hit on a winning game plan that revolves around the power running of Josh Jacobs.

That almost sounds like Love has gone from $220 million franchise quarterback to $220 million game manager.

Not so much, though.

There are a few numbers that serve as a good guide to quarterback efficiency.

One, of course, is passer rating. Love has matched his career high with four consecutive games with a 100-plus rating.

Second is yards per attempt. Since the bye, Love is a full yard better than any other quarterback. Love’s advantage in yards per completion is a whopping 1.7.

Third is success rate, which matches Green Bay’s win/lose grading system. What is a successful play? A first-and-10 play that gains 4 yards, a second-down play that gets at least half the remaining yards and a third- or fourth-down play that moves the chains. Love is No. 1 since the bye.

With the Packers trailing 17-7 at halftime against Detroit, Love was 9-of-12 for 175 yards during the second half as the Packers scored three touchdowns and one field goal in five possessions to rally the team to a fourth-quarter lead and a fourth-quarter tie.

It wasn’t quite enough, but it showed what’s possible. If Love can do that on the road against what was the NFL’s second-ranked scoring defense, what can he do in the postseason?

The Packers will face a big challenge on Sunday night. Just as Love is one of the hottest quarterbacks in the NFL the last four weeks, the Seahawks have fielded one of the best pass defenses. During their four-game winning streak, they are second in opponent passer rating.

“The more he plays, the better he gets,” LaFleur said. “And I think his mechanics have improved. I think he’s really focused on that over the last few weeks, and I think he’s playing better. It’s funny how that works.

“He’s doing a great job of moving in the pocket when things are there. It’s almost been automatic for him. So, we need that to continue for us to get to where we want to go. But I am happy with how he’s playing. I think he’s playing decisive, doing a good job, for the most part, getting the ball out of his hands. And, like I said, we need him to continue to do that.”

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