By Eric Goska
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| Jordan Love posted a passer rating of 123.2 in Green Bay's 38-20 victory over the Bears (photos by Eric Goska) |
He passed the first test.
Jordan Love, waiting in the wings for three years, successfully kicked
off his first season as the starting quarterback of the Green Bay Packers.
The organization and its fans can only hope his performance is a sign
of another long run of excellence at the position.
Love passed for three touchdowns with nary a turnover as the Packers shrugged
off the Chicago Bears 38-20 at Soldier Field. The win was the ninth in a row by
Green Bay over its longtime rival.
Drafted 26th overall in 2020, Love has been under scrutiny since Day
One. The questions surrounding his talent and leadership only intensified after
Aaron Rodgers was traded to the Jets in April.
With but one start and 157 regular-season snaps under his belt, Love
was something of an unknown. He had shown flashes – leading Green Bay to 10
fourth-quarter points against the Eagles last season – but no one could predict
how he would fare once the training wheels came off.
Against the Bears, Love displayed poise, patience and an ability to
bounce back from a relatively slow start. Lukewarm early, Love improved as the
game progressed and finished with the highest passer rating for any Green Bay
quarterback starting a season opener for the first time.
Nineteen players have started at quarterback in a season opener for the
Packers since 1947. Love became the ninth to notch a win in his first
season-opening start and just the third (Scott Hunter at Cleveland in 1972;
David Whitehurst at Detroit in 1978) to have that victory come on the road.
In toppling Chicago, Love extended some trends that have arisen since
Matt LaFleur became head coach in 2019. He found the end zone, connecting with receiver
Romeo Doubs (twice) and running back Aaron Jones. He avoided throwing an
interception. And he finished with a higher passer rating (123.2) than his Bears
counterpart: Justin Fields (78.2).
Superior passing has been one reason why the Packers have taken nine
straight from Chicago. Over that span, Green Bay has fired 22 TD passes to zero
interceptions (118.8). Chicago’s numbers: 8 TD passes against 13 interceptions
(71.5).
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| Love and receiver Christian Watson. Watson did not play in Chicago. |
Love didn’t come out blazing at Soldier Field. He completed 7 of 16
first-half passes for 81 yards and a TD (80.5). Aside from a 30-yarder to
rookie receiver Jayden Reed, his longest completion was 16 yards.
But when the Packers turned to Jones at the start of the third
quarter, Love’s game improved. His 51-yard collaboration with the running back ignited
a touchdown drive that put Green Bay ahead 17-6. His 35-yard toss to Jones pushed
that advantage to 24-6 and sent his passer rating above 100 for good.
Love hit on 8 of 11 passes for 164 yards and two TDs in the second
half. His rating after intermission (154.4) was nearly 75 points higher than in
the opening two quarters.
Love compiled a perfect passer rating (158.3) on third and fourth down.
He found six different receivers in completing 8 of 10 passes for 141 yards and
two scores as Green Bay converted 10 of 18 third and fourth downs.
Number-wise, Love bettered the work of his two predecessors when they opened a season for the first time. Rodgers posted a 115.5 rating in his first season-opening start against the Vikings in 2008. Favre checked in at 103.2 in downing the Rams 36-6 in 1993.
Since 1947, highest passer ratings posted by Packers quarterbacks in the first season opener in which they started (minimum 15 pass attempts).
123.2 Jordan Love 27 – 15 – 245 – 3 – 0 Sept. 10, 2023 Bears GB won, 38-20
117.7 Anthony Dilweg 32 – 20 – 248 – 3 – 0 Sept. 9, 1990 Rams GB won, 36-24
115.5 Aaron Rodgers 22 – 18 – 178 – 1 – 0 Sept. 8, 2008 Vikings GB won, 24-19
112.4 Scott Hunter 17 – 7 – 150 – 2 – 0 Sept. 17, 1972 Browns GB won, 26-10
103.2 Brett Favre 29 – 19 – 264 – 2 – 1 Sept. 5, 1993 Rams GB won, 36-6
1947 marked the first year in which the Packers embraced the T formation; that is, with the quarterback under center.
as always very informative as you give both a game summary and drill down into the historical data....curious (and serious): is/was Anthony Dilweg any relation to Laverne?
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