Jordan Love ‘Feeling Better,’ Must Handle Pressure Better vs. Rams

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love was knocked around by the Vikings last week. With his injured knee feeling better, he’ll be tested by the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love throws the ball under pressure from Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jonathan Bullard. / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Jordan Love was a sitting duck for the Green Bay Packers last week.

In his return from a knee injury that had sidelined him for the previous two games, Love’s mobility was limited. With the score quickly getting out of hand, the Minnesota Vikings top-ranked pass rush smelled blood in the water.

Love was the chum.

According to Next Gen Stats, Love was pressured on 21 dropbacks – tied for the most in the league last week and tied for third-most for any quarterback this season. Understanding Love’s physical limitations and staying true to their defensive mentality, the Vikings blitzed on 46.4 percent of his dropbacks, the fourth-highest rate in the NFL last week.

By the official stats, Love was sacked twice and hit on 10 occasions.

So, how was it feeling on Wednesday?

“How’s what feeling?” Love replied.

The knee, obviously, but Love took a beating in general.

“Knee’s feeling fine,” Love said after being limited participation at Wednesday's practice. “Body in general is typical postgame soreness, took a couple hits, things like that but, three days later, body is feeling better.”

The Packers lost the game 31-29 due in part to Love’s inability to handle the Vikings’ pressure from a combination of his limited mobility and rust.

According to Pro Football Focus, Love was 7-of-19 passing when under pressure. Of 29 quarterbacks who were under pressure for at least six dropbacks last week, Love ranked 25th in completion percentage (36.8), 20th in yards per attempt (4.9) and 28th in passer rating (31.1).

However, he took a licking and kept on ticking, to quote the old Timex watch slogan. He got knocked and he got up again, to quote the great musical philosophers Chumbawamba.

Critically, when Love scrambled for a first down on third-and-6, a Vikings defender fell on the back of his knee.

That he was able to shake off the pain in short order gave him confidence.

“Yeah, for sure,” he said. “I think that was the big test going into the game, is how I respond to getting hit, things like that, so definitely gives me more confidence. I know going into the game that it’s football. I’m going to get hit at some point, so just wanted to see how I respond.”

Love responded well. The three interceptions played a huge role in the loss, but Love got cooking in the fourth quarter.

Throwing 54 passes was not found in any part of coach Matt LaFleur’s game plan, but the need to throw the ball again and again allowed Love to shake off two games on the sideline and three weeks of limited practice reps, LaFleur believed.

“I think he’s right,” Love said. “I think the biggest thing for me getting back was just continue to get reps, getting the throws back down and the timing of everything. So, yeah, definitely feel like as the game went on, I started improving, getting back comfortable with the timing and ball placement, things like that.

“Getting all those reps and all those throws definitely helped and helps me going forward.”

The “going forward” part is huge. While the Rams have arguably the worst defense in the NFL – they are 27th in yards allowed per rushing attempt and 32nd in yards allowed per passing attempt – they have the highest pressure rate in the league even while having one of the lowest blitz rates, according to Next Gen Stats.

During the final 16 minutes against the Vikings, Love was 15-of-19 passing for 222 yards. That’s big-time efficiency. While the scoreboard might have taken some of the edge off Minnesota’s defense, Love thought that was real production and not the football equivalent of empty calories.

“A lot of it is the situation we put ourselves in,” Love said. “In the first half, being down 28-0, things like that, where you’re trying to climb back in the game, fight back, and we’re going to be passing it a lot.

“I think we did some really good things in the second half and were able to put ourselves in position to have a chance to come back, but it was too little, too late. We didn’t do enough in the first half, and the stats are what the stats are. I think it was the situation we put ourselves in to be throwing it that much.”

With Love no worse for wear after Sunday’s game and now with a bunch of reps to get back into the flow, he is confident the knee and the offense are in a good spot.

“That’s one of the question marks going into the game,” he said. “How would it feel getting hit, getting twisted, things like that. And I think I came out of the game fine. Obviously, it’s going to be a little sore from taking hits and whatnot, but I like where my knee’s at coming out of the game and it gives me confidence going forward.”

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