Remember how exciting it was last month when Micah Parsons was set to return to AT&T Stadium to face the Dallas Cowboys for the first time? Well, take that excitement level and multiply it by whatever ridiculously large number you like, and that's the feeling we've got this week, as the Green Bay Packers are set to square off against Aaron Rodgers for the first and likely only time.
Yes, the rest of his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates will be there, but you know where our focus is here at Lombardi Ave.
Rodgers, of course, spent 18 years in Green Bay after the Packers took him in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft.
The Cal-Berkeley alum spent the first three years of his career sitting behind Brett Favre, but once he got his shot to be QB1, he certainly didn't waste it, racking up 147 regular-season wins, 11 postseason victories, including a win in Super Bowl 45 over none other than the Steelers, four regular-season NFL MVPs, a Super Bowl MVP, 10 trips to the Pro Bowl, five All-Pro selections, the most TD passes in franchise history, and the second-most passing yards. Yeah, it's a lot.
Naturally, just as Rodgers could never and will never escape being compared to Favre, Jordan Love will always and forever be compared to Rodgers. Love's journey to becoming Green Bay's QB1 is spookily similar to the path Rodgers took, as the former was drafted in the first round while the latter was still performing at an extremely high level.
Just as Rodgers did, Love sat on the sidelines for three seasons waiting his turn. And while we obviously have no idea if Love will be as successful as his predecessor has been, we do know that he's off to a fine start.
In fact, just as it's a little eerie how Love has taken the exact same path Rodgers took, it's downright scary how similar Love's numbers are to the ones Rodgers posted at this exact same point in his career.
Jordan Love's stats through his first 38 starts are nearly identical to those of Aaron Rodgers
Okay, before we get into this, it needs to be noted that while Love made one start as a rookie in 2021 when Rodgers was forced to miss the Packers' Week 9 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, we are not going to include that in here, as we want this comparison to be when each was the true QB1 of this franchise.
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So, if you take that start away from Love, we'll be using the 38 regular-season starts he's made over the last two-plus seasons: 17 in 2023, 15 in 2024, and six here in 2025. As for Rodgers, we'll be using his 16 starts from 2008, the 16 from 2009, and his first six of the Packers' Super Bowl-winning 2010 campaign.
So, without further ado, let's take a look.
Stat | Aaron Rodgers | Jordan Love |
|---|---|---|
Starts | 38 | 38 |
Record | 20-18 | 22-15-1 |
Win Pct. | .526 | .592 |
Pass Completions | 820 | 762 |
Pass Attempts | 1,278 | 1,180 |
Comp. Pct. | 64.2 | 64.6 |
Pass Yards | 10,018 | 8,986 |
Pass TDs | 68 | 67 |
Interceptions | 27 | 24 |
Passer Rating | 97.2 | 98.1 |
Pretty damn close, right?
Yes, Rodgers has a monster advantage in yardage, but he also threw 98 more passes. So, that's to be expected. However, it's also impressive that, despite nearly 100 fewer throws, Love has only one fewer touchdown pass. However, Rodgers having only three more interceptions is impressive in its own right.
As you can see, though, from an overall standpoint, Love's numbers are actually just a touch better, as he holds the edge in winning percentage, completion percentage, and passer rating. So, again, he's off to a pretty solid start.
Kickoff between Love's Packers and Rodgers' Steelers is set for 8:20 p.m. Eastern this Sunday night, and what a battle it should be.