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Monday, September 11, 2023

New Era, Same Result for Packers in Chicago

 By Eric Goska

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).
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.
 
Next up for Green Bay: the Falcons in Atlanta. There, Love will become only the second Packers quarterback to be subjected to back-to-back road games to start a season.  Rodgers was the first in 2016 with the Green and Gold prevailing 27-23 at Jacksonville before falling 17-14 in Minnesota.
 
Off to a Good Start
Since 1947, highest passer ratings posted by Packers quarterbacks in the first season opener in which they started (minimum 15 pass attempts).
 
Rate    Quarterback      Att-Com-Yds-TD-Int    Date                    Opp.      Result
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. 

1 comment:

  1. 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?

    ReplyDelete