While Jordan Love did his best to downplay the Green Bay Packers' Week 8 matchup with Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers as just another game, he knew deep down that Sunday night was special, as this game was likely the only time he would ever get to square off with his predecessor.
Love, of course, spent three seasons sitting behind Rodgers after the Packers took him in the first round of the 2020 draft.
And while Rodgers easily could've taken the Brett Favre route and been unwilling to be a mentor to the man who knew would one day take his job, he instead opted to go in the other direction by taking Love under his wing and teaching the Utah State alum everything he was willing to learn, whether it be footwork or film study or cadence or throwing motion or anything else that an NFL quarterback needs to know to succeed.
And everything Love learned was on full display in prime time on Sunday night, as he put together one of the best overall performances of his young career in leading the Packers to a 35-25 win over the Steelers, thus denying Rodgers in his attempt to become only the fifth quarterback to defeat all 32 current NFL teams. And in the aftermath of his victory, Love couldn't help but gush about what he'd done in front of the man from whom he learned so much.
"I knew what this week meant, and coming into it what it was going to be," Love told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. "So, definitely, playing well going against A-Rod, and coming out with the win feels great. Just like you said, the time we spent together, everything I learned, it definitely is special for me to go out and be able to play well with him watching. That's one of those things, I know he's been watching, I know he's studied some of the games we've played.
"He's texted me that before—he's seen some really good things from me, some great growth, and he's happy for me. We've got a pretty special relationship, and anytime I'm able to hear from him, get some good feedback and come out here and play well with him on the other side, it definitely felt good."
Jordan Love delivers his best performance against his Packers mentor
While it took some time for Love and the Green Bay offense to get rolling, the 26-year-old eventually found his rhythm and ultimately ended his night having completed 29 of 37 passes for a season-high 360 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions en route to earning a season-best 134.2 passer rating.
Love also tied a franchise record previously owned solely by Brett Favre by completing 20 consecutive passes, connecting on his final four attempts of the first half and his first 16 of the second half, with two of those attempts going for touchdowns to help the Packers erase a 16-7 halftime deficit.
In the loss, Rodgers completed 24 of 36 passes for 219 yards with a pair of touchdowns and was also interception-free.
The former teammates quickly found one another after the game concluded and shared an embrace, during which Rodgers could be heard telling Love to "keep balling."