While Jordan Love has obviously attempted to establish his own identity as the starting quarterback of the Green Bay Packers for the last two-plus years, the fact of the matter is that he's always going to draw comparisons to Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.
Is it fair? Of course not. But that's just what happens when you play for the winningest franchise in NFL history, and two of the greatest to ever play the position just happened to be the two QB1s who came before you and combined to hold your job for three decades.
Love is certainly off to a solid start, as he's led the Packers to the playoffs in each of first two seasons as QB1, which neither Favre nor Rodgers accomplished. The ultimate feat Love has to match, of course, is a Super Bowl title, which Favre won in year five and Rodgers won in year three. No pressure there, right?
But Love undoubtedly has Green Bay in that position right now, as the Packers currently sit atop the NFC North at 9-3-1, a mark that also has them holding the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff picture heading into Week 15. So, the potential is there for a Lombardi Trophy.
But yet another thing Love would need to win to match his predecessors is the NFL MVP, which Favre won three times and Rodgers won on four occasions. That really didn't seem possible for Jordan a little over a month ago when the Packers dropped consecutive games to fall to 5-3-1. But with Green Bay riding a four-game winning streak and Love on a hot streak of his own from a personal standpoint, he's vaulted himself into the conversation and has seen his odds rise significantly.
Jordan Love now has the third-best odds to win NFL MVP
Ahead of the Packers' Thanksgiving Day matchup with the Detroit Lions, Love's NFL MVP odds stood at +5500. But after throwing for 234 yards and a career-high-matching four touchdowns with zero interceptions in Green Bay's 31-24 victory, his odds rose to +1500.
And coming out of this past Sunday's 28-21 win over the Chicago Bears, a victory in which he threw for another 234 yards with three touchdowns and an interception, Love has seen his odds jump yet again, as DraftKings currently has him with the third-shortest odds at +1000.
Matthew Stafford (-180) and Drake Maye (+200) are still the big favorites, and reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen (+1500) is still in the mix, but there's a steep dropoff from there, as Dak Prescott sits in fifth at +7500. So, the fact that Love is included in this top four is certainly worth mentioning at this point in the season.
And he undoubtedly deserves to be there, as he's completed a career-best 67.1 percent of his passes for 3,028 yards with 22 touchdowns against just four interceptions, thus earning a 105.4 passer rating, good for the fourth-highest mark in the NFL. Love also has the highest EPA/play of any QB in the league, and his 89.9 overall PFF grade ranks second behind only Stafford's 93.6.
If the 27-year-old can continue his strong play this Sunday in Colorado and get the Packers a win over the Denver Broncos, who haven't lost at home in more than a year, currently own the No. 1 seed in the AFC, and have allowed the third-fewest yards (282.0) and the fourth-fewest points (18.1) per game this season, one can only assume Love's odds will get even better.