As he tries to break last season’s NFC playoff picture, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love has identified an encouraging trend that could propel the 7-8 Packers back into contention.”What’s exciting is we’re fixing some of the mistakes we made early in the season and turning them into big things,” Love said Wednesday, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic .
A loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10 dropped the Packers to 3-6, and their season appeared lost as Love and the offense struggled. However, they started a three-game winning streak with a win against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11. Matt LaFleur’s team has won four of its last six games. In Week 17, his chance to make the playoffs is 26 percent.With a win over the NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings in Week 17, the Packers would have a better than 50-50 chance to make the tournament with a 55 percent chance.
Love begins in the second half of the seasonGreen Bay’s success matched Love’s season-best performance and was his first as the Packers’ starting quarterback since the franchise acquired longtime starter Aaron Rodgers. Over the past six games, Love has posted a passer percentage over 100.0 five times. Posted a QBR over 90.0 three times. Before that, Love had three games where he had a passer rating over 100. He didn’t post a QBR of 90.0 in any game.
One way to make big plays is to not give the ball to the other team. Since Week 10, Love has recorded just one of 11 interceptions. A healthy receiving corps helped open up some of the opportunities the Packers saw from Love. It is questionable whether they will be able to advance to the playoffs this season. But the Packers should feel their patience and faith in Love is being rewarded.
