The Green Bay Packers need to let quarterback Jordan Love loose in their Wild Card matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
That seems simple enough, but anyone who has watched the Packers in 2024 knows that head coach Matt LaFleur has been pulled in two distinct directions this season — and that has led to some incongruities on offense.
On the one hand, there’s Love, who the Packers have invested much time, energy, emotion and money into.
First, general manager Brian Gutekunst and LaFleur took a risk when they moved up spots in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft to select Love out of Utah State.
The biggest risk they ran was pissing off their MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers, which they undoubtedly did. The good news was that an angry Rodgers went on to win two more NFL MVP awards and he kept the Super Bowl window open for the Packers while Love had a chance to develop.
The even better news for Gutekunst and Green Bay was the fact that Love did indeed develop under Rodgers. When the four-time MVP and his long-time organization divorced and the Packers sent Rodgers to the New York Jets, Love actually proved himself worthy of being a franchise quarterback.
That’s why the Packers gave Love a four-year, $220 million contract extension this season after a “prove it” year in 2023. He started off slow in his first season as a starter, but by the end, he was one of the best gunslingers in football.
Love has undeniable arm talent and athleticism and can make throws that many quarterbacks in the NFL can’t. The problem in 2024 is that his confidence in his arm led him to make several bad decisions with the football. He notched 11 interceptions in his first eight games of the season, but after Green Bay’s bye week, LaFleur reigned him in a bit and he went on to have a 9-to-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio for the rest of the season.
That’s the good news. The bad news has been that the Packers’ offense has lost some of its explosion and play-making ability, especially when it comes to making plays down the field.
And therein lies the second side of the coin for LaFleur and the Packers. As they reigned Love in over the second half of the season they also amped up the touches and reliance on star running back Josh Jacobs, who the Packers gave a four-year, $48 million contract to this offseason as a free agent.
Jacobs has been one of the best running backs in football this season — his 15 rushing touchdowns are only behind Derrick Henry, James Cook and Jahmyr Gibbs, who notched 16 — and he proved to be a true workhorse and steadying force for the Packers, especially in the red zone.
In fact, Jacobs finished the regular season on an eight-game rushing touchdown streak, with all of his touchdowns during that period coming in the red zone.
He’s been automatic for the Packers in that all-so-important part of the field, and he’s been LaFleur’s biggest focus when it comes to play calling. It’s hard to blame LaFleur for that as well. When you have a weapon that can control the ball, the clock and the tempo of a game, you’d be smart to use that weapon.
While Jacobs has been transcendent for Green Bay since late October, his emergence and LaFleur’s dependency on him has led to some disjointed moments for Love and the passing game.
And yes, some of it has been Love struggling with accuracy and his receivers dropping balls sure hasn’t helped either. Still, the Packers’ deep game hasn’t been as effective and their receivers have grown so accustomed to blocking on most plays that they’ve seemingly forgotten how to get open for their gunslinger quarterback.
Throw in the loss of Christian Watson for the rest of this campaign and most of next and there should be a real worry in Green Bay that all Philadelphia will have to do is line up eight or even nine in the box and force LaFleur to get away from Jacobs and the run.
From there, will Love and the passing offense even have enough rhythm to keep up with an Eagles offense that puts up 27.2 points per game?
The Packers need to let Jordan Love loose against the Eagles
If LaFleur stubbornly focuses on pounding the rock with Jacobs, the answer to the above question will be no. If he remembers how Love was able to sling the ball around and make big plays at the end of last season, though, there’s a chance that the Packers can use Love and the passing game to complement the running game against Philly.
It would be a reversal of what they’ve been doing, but with two losses in the past two weeks why wouldn’t LaFleur try something else?
Love proved in the playoffs last season that he can carry the team when asked to throw the ball. He completed 16-of-21 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns in last season’s Packers’ Wild Card win over the Dallas Cowboys on the road. The Packers were underdogs coming into that one they got up early and were able to stay up, largely because Love was confident and in charge of the offense.
That’s been the key for Love in his young career. When he confidently chucks the ball around the yard and doesn’t overthink it, he can be one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL — and top quarterbacks win playoff games. He’s hopeful he’ll be back to full strength in this one after injuring his elbow in Week 18, but even Love at 75 percent can still win this game for the Pack.
If LaFleur tries to keep Love reigned in against the Eagles the Packers will lose, and probably lose big. If LaFleur lets Love cook, though, the sky is the limit for this Packers team in the Wild Card.
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