Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love reveals how the game has slowed down for him and details his relationship with Josh Jacobs and Matt LaFleur (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love says the game has “slowed down” with the more experience he gets.
The fifth-year quarterback is well aware the Packers need more “consistency” in order to get to an elite level. While they've made back-to-back playoff appearances, they've come up short each time, losing in the Wild Card round to the future Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
With that being said, Green Bay still has the youngest roster in the NFL and will only get better as time progresses.
“Definitely, yeah,” said Love in a one-on-one interview with RG, when asked if the game has slowed down for him. “That's a huge part of it. Every rep you get, you see, you learn and you grow. The game's definitely slowed down so much since I entered the league. Hopefully it keeps slowing down and I keep improving. Seeing different looks, understanding what the defense is trying to throw at you, how they're trying to stop you, and just trying to take advantage of that.”
While Love struggled with some injuries in the early portion of the season, missing two games due to an MCL injury, he mimicked his success from the 2023 season. Love posted a similar passer rating – 96.7 passer rating – this season compared to his 96.1 passer rating from the previous year. The 26-year-old also posted nine wins – the same as last year – despite starting two fewer games.
However, the Packers did struggle against the NFC's elite, going 0-2 against the Eagles and winless against their top two rivals in the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings, both of whom finished with at least 14 wins.
Green Bay will look to lean on their current stars, such as Love and Josh Jacobs, in order to get to that next level. Jacobs impressed in his first season with the Packers, posting a Pro Bowl campaign after putting up 1,329 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns.
“Anytime you add a player like Josh Jacobs, he's going to make your team better,” said Love of his starting running back.
“He did so many good things for us as an offense, and he definitely makes life easy as a quarterback when you can hand the ball to a guy like that, throw it to him out of the backfield, and he's making these big-time explosive plays for your offense.”
Jacobs was an established two-time Pro Bowler with the Las Vegas Raiders prior to his arrival in Green Bay. He led the league with 1,653 rushing yards during the 2022 season, as he was named a First-Team All-Pro selection. He also became the first player in franchise history to rack up 2,000 scrimmage yards in a single season.
However, he dealt with injuries and had a rough 2023 season – just 3.5 yards per carry – and fell out of favor in Las Vegas before signing a deal with the Packers last offseason.
“He had a very huge role in our offense, came in and did exactly what he talked about he was going to do and that's make big-time plays and obviously be the leader that he is of our offense,” said Love of Jacobs. “He's a big-time player.”
Love also speaks glowingly of his relationship with longtime head coach Matt LaFleur. The 45-year-old has been Love's head coach since he was drafted in 2020, which came during a time when Aaron Rodgers was established as the franchise quarterback.
It's no shock that LaFleur and Love get along well, considering the head coach drafted Love and hand-picked him to be Rodgers' eventual successor. The move has obviously paid dividends, with Love emerging as one of the top quarterbacks in the league.
It also doesn't hurt that LaFleur's background is concentrated on quarterbacks, having served that role in college and having done so at the pro level with the Washington Commanders and Atlanta Falcons.
“Matt does a good job and obviously game plans and tailors everything to the players and does a phenomenal job of that,” said Love of LaFleur. “He's been very successful in his career.”
We'll see what the Packers do in the offseason to help get them to that next level. Hitting on their No. 23 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft will obviously go a long way towards helping them get to the elite echelon of teams. However, it's clear that Green Bay has a solid, young nucleus with their franchise quarterback, running back and head coach. The sky's the limit for this team as they look to replicate the success that the Eagles just had in emerging as Super Bowl champions with the third-youngest roster in the NFL.
DJ Siddiqi
