Packer Central

Comparing Jordan Love to Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre Through 25 Starts

Jordan Love made his first start as Green Bay’s full-time quarterback at Chicago in Week 1 of last season. On Sunday, Love will return to where his predecessors dominated.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) passes at Soldier Field last season.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) passes at Soldier Field last season. / Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – On Sunday, Jordan Love will return to where it all started.

The House That Aaron Rodgers Built.

When the Green Bay Packers face the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Sunday, it will be Love’s 25th regular-season start as the team’s full-time starting quarterback.

His first start, of course, was at Soldier Field in last year’s opener. Love threw three touchdown passes in a 38-20 victory over the Bears to continue Green Bay’s incredible dominance in the series.

“Obviously, there was a lot of emotions and thoughts last year just being my first season being the full-time starter going into that,” Love said on Wednesday. “Obviously, playing down there in Chicago is a tough place to play, but I was expected to go out there and get the season started off.

“A little different feel this year, but we’re excited to go down there and put our best foot forward for this game.”

Looking back, Love had almost unfillable shoes in replacing the four-time MVP.

History, however, has proven the Packers made the inarguably correct decision in trading Rodgers to the Jets and handing the offense to Love.

Due in part to injuries, Love’s second season has been a disappointment in comparison to how he finished last season. At least the Packers are 6-3, though. The Jets are 3-7 because Rodgers has not been a conquering hero in New York.

Entering Week 11, Love ranks 20th in passer rating (88.2), 31st in completion percentage (61.3) and 11th in yards per attempt (7.58). He has thrown 15 touchdowns vs. 10 interceptions in seven starts. Rodgers is 23rd in rating (86.8), 29th in completion percentage (62.4) and 26th in yards per attempt (6.43). He has thrown 15 touchdowns vs. seven interceptions in 10 starts.

Including Love’s one start at Kansas City in 2021, Love has started 25 games in his career. Here is a statistical comparison of all three quarterbacks through 25 starts (with Love’s 24 games as the full-time starter in parentheses).

Completion Percentage

Love: 63.1 percent (63.4). Rodgers: 63.7 percent. Favre: 63.5.

Passing Yards

Love: 6,169 (5,979). Rodgers: 6,482. Favre: 5,386.

Passing Touchdowns

Love: 48 (47). Rodgers: 45. Favre: 31.

Interceptions

Love: 22 (21). Rodgers: 18. Favre: 30.

Yards Per Attempt

Love: 7.2 (7.3). Rodgers: 7.8. Favre: 6.6.

Passer Rating

Love: 92.8 (93.8). Rodgers: 96.6. Favre: 79.7.

Record

Love: 13-12 (13-11). Rodgers: 11-14. Favre: 15-9.

Jordan Love vs. the Bears

Love has thrown 59 passes against the Bears in his career. Among all quarterbacks in NFL history who have thrown at least 50 passes against Chicago, Love is No. 1 in passer rating:

Jordan Love: 129.3.

Carson Palmer: 122.8.

Patrick Mahomes: 119.7.

Ryan Tannehill: 116.5.

Bob Berry: 111.3

Aaron Rodgers: 109.0.

Love, Mahomes, Phil Simms and Carson Wentz have the most touchdown passes against Chicago (five) without an interception.

Love is fourth in completion percentage (71.2) and third in yards per attempt (9.5). His touchdown percentage of 8.5 is sixth; legendary coach Steve Spurrier is No. 1 (11.3 percent).

This will be Love’s third start in the rivalry. He led the Packers to wins in the first and last games of last season. He picked up where the legends left off.

Rodgers went 24-5 against Chicago with 64 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. While with Green Bay, Favre went 22-10 against Chicago with 53 touchdowns and 38 interceptions.

Because of Favre and Rodgers, the Packers lead a series in which they used to be crushed by their longtime rivals.

On Nov. 9, 1958, the Bears beat the Packers 24-10. With Chicago’s 21st win in 26 matchups, it held a commanding 48-25-6 lead in the series. The lead soared to 81-58-6 when the Bears beat the Favre-led Packers 24-10 on Oct. 25, 1992, at Lambeau Field.

Now, with 10 consecutive wins, Green Bay leads 106-94-6.

“We know the history of the game and it’s definitely special to be a part of it,” Love said this week. “The oldest rivalry in football, so it’s very special and I think we definitely take pride in that.”

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.