It has been an unusual season for the Green Bay Packers, especially regarding the polarizing opinions about Jordan Love.
As his performance levels and consistency increase, so does the criticism. Love is undeniably a better quarterback than a year ago. He has maintained his big-play ability while significantly reducing turnovers, throwing just six picks in the regular season.
His processing of defenses, his poise, and his ability to direct traffic before the snap have all reached borderline elite levels. It helped him rise to third in the MVP odds last month.
Yet just three weeks ago, after Malik Willis marched up and down the Chicago Bears' defense to earn himself a big free agency payday, the conversation suddenly shifted to whether Willis should start over Love. Matt LaFleur shut it down the moment the topic reached his press conference, as he should, and Green Bay's head coach again rallied behind his QB1 ahead of the playoffs.
"I've got a ton of confidence in him," LaFleur said of Love. "There's nobody else I'd rather have than Jordan."
Matt LaFleur believes Jordan Love can do whatever the Packers need to make a playoff run
LaFleur was responding to a question about his confidence in Love's ability to lead the team to success in the playoffs. It was an emphatic answer.
But also the correct one. Love has playoff experience. In his very first postseason start, he lit up the Dallas Cowboys' defense with three touchdowns and an almost-perfect 157.2 passer rating in a 48-32 victory. A week later, he almost led an upset over the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers, throwing two more touchdown passes but also two picks, including a rookie error to throw it away late.
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Last season, the Packers were doomed from the start. They limped into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed and drew a daunting matchup in Philadelphia. Love had just recovered from an elbow injury, and he then lost Elgton Jenkins, Romeo Doubs, and Jayden Reed. Just a week earlier, Christian Watson had suffered a torn ACL. Love's supporting cast fell apart at the worst moment.
But he knows what it's like to play in the toughest environments in the biggest games. Those experiences will serve him well, and we all remember how comfortable he looked on the grandest stage when the Packers upset the Cowboys two winters ago.
Love is coming off his best season. He has missed the past two and a half games, which isn't ideal, but he'll feel confident against a defense he's already thrown for 311 yards and three touchdowns with one pick against this season.
Love still has his doubters. Some are rival fans. Some are former head coaches.
But LaFleur isn't one of them. He has full confidence in his quarterback, and so should we.