ESPN’s Mina Kimes: Love or Goff as NFC North’s Best QB?

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love is the best in the NFC North and one of the best in the NFC, ESPN's Mina Kimes said.

Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love fires a pass while under pressure from Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone at Ford Field on Thanksgiving. / David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports

 

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Appearing on Woodward Sports’ Detroit-based podcast, ESPN’s Mina Kimes said the Detroit Lions are better than the Green Bay Packers but the Packers have the quarterbacking edge with Jordan Love over Jared Goff.

“Come on guys, we watched on Thanksgiving. Let’s be real,” she said. “You’ve got to be honest. The Lions are a better team – I’m looking at my power rankings, I have them over the Packers – (but) you can’t be just all sunshine and roses and pandering. 

“It would be lying to pretend like Jordan Love didn’t ball out the second half of last season. I know it was just a half a season but that was a very young receiving group which, I think, explains some of the adjustment period early on.”

The Lions crushed the Love-led Packers in Week 4 at Lambeau Field. Love was 23-of-36 passing for 246 yards – decent numbers – but had one touchdown and two interceptions, good for a 69.9 passer rating.

For Love, it was Game 2 of a five-game stretch in which he threw five touchdowns vs. eight interceptions.

During the seven-game stretch spanning Game 3 vs. the Saints through Game 9 vs. the Steelers, Love had one 100-rating game. Then, Love and the offense got hot. Over the final eight regular-season games, Love threw 18 touchdowns vs. one interception and had a rating of at least 108.5 in seven outings. That includes going 22-of-32 for 268 yards with three touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 125.5 rating in a blowout win over the Lions at Ford Field.

With that, it appears the Packers somehow have gone from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers to Love.

“Yeah, he’s, to me, right now the best quarterback in the division,” Kimes said. “I think he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the NFC, the NFL, and that sucks because like, (expletive), ‘How’d they do it again. That sucks.’ That’s got to be so infuriating as an NFC North fan.”

Still, the Lions have an excellent quarterback in Goff and a complete roster around him, which is why Detroit reached the NFC Championship Game last year and is favored to repeat as NFC North champions this year.

Goff finished second in passing yards, fourth in passing touchdowns and ninth in passer rating. Receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown finished second in the NFL in receptions, third in receiving yards and fourth in receiving touchdowns. Among tight ends, rookie Sam LaPorta finished fourth in receptions and first in touchdowns. Running back David Montgomery reached 1,000 rushing yards and explosive rookie Jahmyr Gibbs fell just short while finishing fourth among backs with 5.19 yards per carry.

A great offensive line powers a unit that ranked fifth in scoring. (Green Bay was 12th.)

“The good news for you is you have a ton of other pieces in place that are not only going to be good this year but are going to be good for a long time,” Kimes said. “This team was built in the trenches, it was built extremely well and you have a head coach and GM that appear to be amongst the NFL’s best.”

Detroit’s Achilles heel last year was its secondary, which Love torched on Thanksgiving. To fend off the charging Packers, the Lions needed to address that weakness. So, they acquired cornerback Carlton Davis from the Buccaneers. He had 60 passes defensed from 2019 through 2022 but gave up a career-worst 14.4 yards per catch last year.

“He’s still probably an upgrade over what you had last year, which was really ugly,” Kimes said.

Next, the Lions used their first-round pick on cornerback Terrion Arnold and their second-round pick on cornerback Ennis Rakestraw.

“To me, it was a perfect fit for what we know Aaron Glenn wants to do on defense,” she continued. “He wants to play more man coverage. He wants his corners to press. They had to back off of that because of the personnel last year.”

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Whenever the #Packers announce their training camp depth charts, they will be merely starting points on the road to spots in the starting lineup or the 53-man roster.

This is what those depth charts could look like. ⬇️https://t.co/vyX10SfIXV

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) June 28, 2024

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