Packers' Matt LaFleur rejects notion that Jordan Love regressed in 2024

New York Times

a day ago

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Rodgers led the Packers to a Super Bowl title in his third season as a starter back in 2010. Fifteen years later, Jordan Love is entering his third season as Green Bay's starting quarterback.
And though general manager Brian Gutekunst called for more urgency inside the building ahead of a season in which he thinks it's time the Packers compete for a Super Bowl ring, it's fair to assume he wasn't mandating Love wins Super Bowl MVP like Rodgers did at age 27 (Love turns 27 in November).
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Even so, after a divisional-round exit and a wild-card loss in his first two seasons starting, Love has his sights set as high as Rodgers took the Packers, even if he's not comparing his career trajectory to that of arguably the best player in franchise history.
'You talk about Super Bowl, that's the goal for us,' Love said on Wednesday after OTA practice. 'We talked about that last year, and that's the same message this year. We're trying to win a Super Bowl. I'm definitely trying to be that guy to be able to take this team and lead them to that.
'When you talk about Aaron and what he did in his third year, I never try to compare because that's so hard to do. There's so many different situations that go on, but at the end of the day, I've been here — going on Year 6, going on my third year playing. Everything is right there in front of us and for this team. It's just about going out there, executing, but the goal is a Super Bowl. That's the mindset we have, and we're going to put in the work to be able to hopefully get there.'
Jordan Love: 'You talk about Super Bowl, that's the goal for us … I'm definitely trying to be that guy to be able to take this team and lead them to that. When you talk about Aaron and what he did in his third year, I never try and compare because that's so hard to do.' pic.twitter.com/EEwvjDQ93k
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) May 28, 2025
Love probably needs to play like a $220 million quarterback for the Packers to reach the sport's pinnacle. And not only is this a pivotal season for the Packers to get over the playoff hump, but you also could argue it's a pivotal season for Love to prove he's more the 2023 Jordan Love than the 2024 version.
However, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur doesn't ascribe to the notion that Love regressed from Year 1 to Year 2 as the starter.
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In his first season at the helm of Green Bay's offense, Love began slowly but played like an NFL MVP in the second half of the season. Love threw 18 touchdowns to one interception in the final eight games of the 2023 regular season and finished with 4,159 yards, 32 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions.
Because of such a strong finish, perhaps the bar was set unreasonably high for Love entering his second season, at least outside the team. His 2024 season was rocky — he threw for 3,389 yards, 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in the regular season. But there was a sprained MCL in Week 1, a sprained groin in Week 8, an inability to get into a practice rhythm because of injury until the second half of the season and drops (according to TruMedia, the Packers ranked 27th in the NFL with 29 drops). Love's footwork and decision-making weren't always the best, but LaFleur sounds like he believes in his defense of Love.
'I think there's like a narrative out there for whatever reason that he wasn't as productive as the year before,' LaFleur said. 'Well, he missed significant time. He missed the better of three games. Really, it was Indy. It was Tennessee. He went out in Jacksonville and then he went out in Chicago. So, you know, three games is a significant amount of time and you're not going to produce as much from a numbers perspective … and also, let's be honest — we've talked about this — we did have a lot of drops last year.
'So there's other circumstances that play into it. I think all in all, everybody's going to be better, though.'
Added wide receiver Jayden Reed, who tied for fifth in the NFL with 10 drops: 'I think (Love) does a great job. We've just got to help him, rally around him and just be better for him.'
Something LaFleur didn't mention Wednesday in defense of Love's 2024 performance is that the Packers leaned more on the run than in any of LaFleur's prior five seasons as head coach. Love didn't have to carry the team with his right arm like he might've had to in the second half of 2023.
The head coach said late in the season that Love was in a stretch of playing the best football of his career, even better than the final eight games of the regular season prior. Last season didn't finish with Love playing that way, and he must fine-tune a couple of things, footwork perhaps atop that list, to once again resemble a quarterback who can help the Packers, not necessarily carry them, to the promised land.
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Presented Wednesday with the notion that he took a step back in 2024, Love offered as much of an animated response as the calm, cool and collected quarterback has given.
'I mean, what is a step back is what I'd ask?' he said. 'You know what I mean? Everybody has different opinions, things like that. You gotta block that stuff out. It's all about the goals of the team at the end of the day. I'd say we won more games than we did the year before. That's why I ask people, what is a step back?
'Like I said, everybody has opinions, things like that. Try to block that out and focus on doing me and being the best player I can be, like I've talked about, and go forward. But at the end of the day, personal stats, things like that, that's all in the back. You gotta focus on the goals of the team, first and foremost.'
The Packers' goal is a Super Bowl, but they first must prove they've reached the same tier as the NFC's elite. Last season, they went 11-6 but finished third in the NFC North. They went 0-5 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings — the three NFC teams with better regular-season records — before losing again to Philadelphia in the playoffs.
The Packers won't have to wait long this season to show that the gap is closed. They host the Lions in Week 1. If they win, maybe then we can realistically discuss Love's wedding day this summer not being the only time he gets a ring.