Green Bay Packers fans watch Jordan Love play every week. We've seen him develop from an up-and-down player with All-Pro moments to one of the most consistent and talented quarterbacks in the league.
Yet, many national analysts haven't caught up. The Love disrespect continued throughout last season despite the fact that he threw 23 touchdown passes to six interceptions, ranked sixth in the NFL in passer rating, third in QBR, second in EPA/play, and was Pro Football Focus' second-highest-rated quarterback behind only NFL MVP Matthew Stafford.
Fortunately, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network gets it. While guest-hosting The Rich Eisen Show, he emphatically shut down a tiresome question: Is Love entering a make-or-break season?
"No," Pelissero said. "He's played a lot of good football. He's had injuries that set him back, that's made things more complicated. You get banged up early in the season, you're never fully healthy, I think that always has a trickle-down effect. But, no, I don't think it's a make-or-break year. Matt LaFleur loves Jordan Love."
"Listen, that offense was rolling pretty good last year until Tucker Kraft gets hurt," he added.
Tom Pelissero understands what Packers fans have been saying all along about Jordan Love
The question came from co-host Chris Brockman, who argued that Packers fans are "kinda iffy" on Love.
That's simply not true.
"All I'm saying is, Jordan Love has one playoff win. Let's go, man. Let's go," Brockman added.
It's nothing we haven't heard before. Pelissero shut down the question about it being a make-or-break year, but let's add to his analysis.
Brockman brought up Love's one playoff win. He didn't once mention that in Love's most recent playoff game, he threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns, while earning a 103.8 rating, on the road against a division rival. The Packers scored 27 points but could've had 34 if Brandon McManus didn't miss three kicks. That's not on Love.
In the fourth quarter, Love led a six-play, 54-yard touchdown drive and an eight-play, 43-yard drive that put his team in range for a 44-yard field goal. It's not his fault that the defense allowed three touchdowns and a field goal in the final frame.
Love also boasts one of the best playoff performances in franchise history, when he completed 16 of 21 passes (76.2 percent) for 272 yards and three touchdowns and a near-perfect 157.2 rating. He led the No. 7-seeded Packers past the No. 2-seeded Dallas Cowboys, who had the No. 5-ranked defense and had won 16 straight games at A&T Stadium. The Packers won 48-32 on the back of Love's brilliance.
It hasn't always been perfect. Love threw three picks in the 2024 playoff defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles, but there's context. Injuries decimated his offensive line, and at wide receiver, he had lost Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, and Romeo Doubs. That Eagles team dominated at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
QB wins don't exist, so the one playoff win argument is harsh. His four touchdown passes sure deserved a victory this past January in Chicago.
Unfortunately, it's a tired narrative we keep hearing about Love. Rewind to October, and Rex Ryan went on a rant about how Love makes mistakes in the biggest moments. He concluded: "Statistically, it says he doesn't turn the ball over. Oh yes he does. The biggest moments, he'll turn it over."
Love threw just six interceptions last season. Per PFF, his turnover-worthy play percentage of just 2.6 percent tied for the fifth-lowest in the NFL. Matthew Stafford, Patrick Mahomes, Drake Maye, and Dak Prescott all had a higher TWP percentage.
The reality is that it will take Packers postseason success for the national narrative to shift, as unfair as that is. Thankfully, Pelissero understands Love's talent and shut down the question about it being a make-or-break year. Soon enough, everyone else will catch up.
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