9 Days Until Training Camp: One-Score Games

Jordan Love has a lot to learn in his first season as an NFL starter. Among them is learning how to win close games, which was a real problem for Aaron Rodgers.

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers went 1-7 in close games in 2008, including this loss at Minnesota. (Photo by USA Today Sports Images)

GREEN BAY, Wis. – With nine days until the first practice of Green Bay Packers training camp, it’s worth remembering three things about one-score games.

- Last year, the Packers played in nine one-score games. They went 4-5 in them, including the Week 18 loss to the Detroit Lions that kept them out of the playoffs.

- That was an outlier season for coach Matt LaFleur. In four seasons, he’s 22-11 in one-score games. That .667 winning percentage is second-best in the NFL behind only Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid’s 25-11 for .694.

- One-score games were the theme of Aaron Rodgers’ first season as the Packers’ starter in 2008.

The Packers beat the Vikings 24-19 at Lambeau Field in Rodgers’ starting debut. In between his first touchdown pass (to fullback Korey Hall) and his 1-yard touchdown sneak, Will Blackmon returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown. Atari Bigby’s interception clinched the victory.

They reached the bye with a 4-3 record but collapsed. They lost their first two games coming out of the bye, routed the Bears at home, then lost five in a row. During that 1-7 stretch of games, six of the losses came by a total of 18 points.

By season’s end, Rodgers was fourth in passing yards, fourth in passing touchdowns and sixth in passer rating. By the midpoint in the season, he had shown enough to warrant a six-year contract extension. His individual success didn’t matter, though. The Packers were 6-10 in his debut season because they finished 1-7 in one-score games. Those close-game woes don’t include a nine-point loss at Tampa Bay in which they trailed 23-21 before Rodgers threw an interception with 2 1/2 minutes to go.

It wasn’t all Rodgers’ fault, obviously. Green Bay finished 20th in total defense, 26th in rushing defense and 22nd in points allowed.

However, the future four-time MVP threw three touchdowns vs. four interceptions with a 76.9 passer rating when tied or trailing by one score in the fourth quarter. Rodgers ranked 12th in completion percentage and 17th in rating while throwing the most interceptions.

With Rodgers traded to the Jets, it’s Jordan Love’s turn. As was the case in 2008, nobody quite knows what to expect from a first-time starting quarterback.

Good quarterbacks make winning decisions at the line of scrimmage. Good quarterbacks throw darts even when they know they’re going to get popped. Good quarterbacks rise to the occasion in the fourth quarters of close games.

That last sentence, of course, is a big one. Rodgers made smart decisions. He played with toughness. He just didn’t win games. It’s possible that could be the theme of Love’s season, as well.

“I think the one thing you see in this league, very rarely are guys shot out of a cannon, winning-wise,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said. “There’s some great play. There’s instances. You see flashes. But I think it takes most of these quarterbacks a little time to learn how to win.”

Rodgers learned how to win. When trailing by one score in the fourth quarter from 2011 through 2021, the span of seasons encompassing his four MVPs, he threw 24 touchdowns vs. nine interceptions. He ranks seventh among active quarterbacks in fourth-quarter comebacks.

Those pressure-cooker moments will be among the countless new things for Love to go through this season.

“It’s one thing to play well and make throws and make plays, but then it’s another thing to lead your team to wins,” Gutekunst continued. “I think that takes time. But you don’t get a lot of that in this league. Certainly, with any new quarterback that’s playing for the first time, you’re going to need some of that.”

Counting Down the Days Until Packers Training Camp

With Jordan Love, of course, at No. 1, these are the 10 most important #Packers for the 2023 season. https://t.co/IVBZHufuBD

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 16, 2023

10 days until training camp: 10 most important Packers

11 days until training camp: 11 drops too many

12 days until training camp: What history says about replacing No. 12

13 days until training camp: Replacing Mason Crosby

14 days until training camp: Previewing the 14 opponents

15 days until training camp: Aaron Jones, touchdown machine

16 days until training camp: Two months until Week 1 at Bears

17 days until training camp: 17 is the unmagical number

Our Training Camp Countdown series rolls on with 17 days until the first practice of #Packers camp.https://t.co/YzQzGOprkH

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 9, 2023

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19 days until training camp: 19 1,000-yard challenges

20 days until training camp: 20 reasons for optimism

21 days until training camp: 21 Packers rookie tight ends

22 days until training camp: Fourth of July fireworks

23 days until training camp: No. 23, Jaire Alexander

24 days until training camp: From No. 1 to No. 24 in red zone

25 days until training camp: From No. 1 to No. 25 in tackling

26 days until training camp: The key to the defense is No. 26

27 days until training camp: 27 sources of inspiration

28 days until training camp: At least they’re consistent

29 days: Keisean Nixon’s surprise stardom

30 days until training camp: 30th in key defensive stat

31 days until training camp: A killer No. 31 ranking

32 days until training camp: 32nd-ranked receivers

33 days until training camp: No. 33, Aaron Jones, is a great player

34 days until training camp: Plus-34 in turnovers