Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love is having a fantastic season. He's completed 70 percent of his passes, has nine touchdowns to just two turnovers, and is commanding one of the top NFC contenders.
In a year where the MVP race is wide open thanks to injuries and sub-par play from the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts, why then isn't Love getting, well, the love in the MVP discussion?
Head to your mega-media source of sports information this week, and Baker Mayfield is plastered all over the front page as an MVP candidate. Love got some of that attention early, but it's waned in the wake of the loss-tie-bye noise and a less-than-emphatic win over Cincinnati.
Despite Baker Mayfield's surge, Jordan Love remains a key MVP contender for the Packers
Mayfield certainly deserves to be in the conversation. His team is 5-1, his weapons are hurt or have been hurt, and he has a 12:1 interception ratio. The former No. 1 overall pick is living up to his billing and deserves his flowers in the conversation.
Both Mayfield and Love are still trailing Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes in the sportsbook odds, at least according to FanDuel. Those are the only players Mayfield is trailing, though, as he carries +470 odds. Love is right behind him in the pecking order, tied with Jared Goff, at +1500.
Love is in the conversation, but he is losing ground with Mayfield's surge. There's really only one way Love gains that ground back, and it's by winning and continuing to light up his stat sheet.
RELATED: Shocking NFC retirement just pushed the door wide open for Packers
The next four games certainly offer an opportunity to do both. The Cardinals, Steelers, Panthers, and Eagles have all had their ups and downs, but each has proven to struggle against crisp, calculated quarterback play.
It's tough to get into that conversation without suggesting another undefeated streak, which Packers fans obviously would rather ignore after the 2-0 start slid the way it did. But that's the reality of the award. Handle business, protect the football, and shine in primetime.
Speaking of primetime, that's really the moment for Love.
Aaron Rodgers will be on the other sideline, and while he isn't playing at an MVP level, he is playing much closer to the Green Bay version of himself than whatever the Jets got out of him. The Steelers' defense will be his actual test, but limiting turnovers against that unit and out-dueling his predecessor would certainly shift a ton of focus toward Love for the second half of the 2025 campaign.
Of course, it's a long season, and Love doesn't exactly have a mountain to climb in the race to the MVP. He's just on the cusp of doing what Mayfield is doing right now. But to do so, he'll have to capitalize on the makeup of the MVP race and do his part in shutting up any Packers detractors out there to get ahead in the conversation instead of playing catch-up.