Jordan Love still has one regular season game left in his first year as the Green Bay Packers starting quarterback.
On the heels of his 256-yard, three-touchdown effort in the team’s Week 17 “Sunday Night Football” win against the Minnesota Vikings, Love has now surpassed the single-season record for every signal-caller in the history of one Green Bay’s biggest rivals in passing yards and touchdowns.
Erik Kramer went undrafted out of North Carolina State and appeared in three games in 1987 with the Atlanta Falcons as a replacement player during the NFL players strike. Kramer then spent three years in the Canadian Football League before returning to the NFL with the Detroit Lions from 1991-93.
The now-59-year-old suited up with the Chicago Bears from 1994-98 and concluded his playing career with the then-San Diego Chargers in 1999. Kramer’s record season with the Bears was by far his best NFL season, as he played and started in all 16 games for the only time in his 10 pro seasons and registered career highs with his 3,838 passing yards (seventh in the league), 29 passing touchdowns (fourth) and 93.5 passer rating (fourth).
Chicago is currently facing a quarterback dilemma with previously presumed franchise signal-caller Justin Fields having an up-and-down first three seasons in the NFL. The Bears selected Fields with the 11th overall pick in 2021 and he’s shown glimpses of greatness, particularly as one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the league.
The 24-year-old finished with a 60.4 completion percentage for 2,242 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions for an 85.2 passer rating across 15 games in 2022. Fields was also seventh in the league with 1,143 rushing yards and added eight scores on the ground but led the NFL in fumbles (16) and sacks (55). He ended the campaign ninth in the MVP voting.
Fields has missed four games this season due to injury and has produced a 61.0 completion percentage for 2,414 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions (85.8 passer rating), adding 630 rushing yards and four scores on the ground via 116 carries.
Chicago has gone just 10-27 in Fields’ 37 career starts and clinched the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on Sunday (from the Carolina Panthers).
Love spent the first three seasons of his career from 2020-22 sitting on the bench behind future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. He only appeared in 10 games (one start) during that stretch. When Rodgers got traded to the New York Jets in April, Love took over as the lead man at Lambeau Field.
The 25-year-old’s 2023 campaign hasn’t been perfect, but it’s certainly been more good than bad. Love’s stayed healthy and played all 16 games, his 30 touchdown passes are third-most in the NFL and he’s been sensational since mid-November.
In seven games since Week 11, Love has a 16:1 touchdown to interception ratio and Green Bay has gone 5-2. After Sunday’s win over the Vikings, all the Packers have to do is defeat Fields and the Bears in Week 18 to make the playoffs.
