NFL offseason power rankings: No. 9 Green Bay Packers excited after Jordan Love’s breakout

Jordan Love was one of the hottest quarterbacks in the NFL by the end of last season. (Yahoo Sports/Gregory Hodge)

Other NFL team previews: 32. Panthers | 31. Patriots | 30. Broncos | 29. Commanders | 28. Giants | 27. Titans | 26. Raiders | 25. Cardinals | 24. Saints | 23. Chargers | 22. Vikings | 21. Seahawks | 20. Buccaneers | 19. Jaguars | 18. Falcons | 17. Colts | 16. Bears | 15. Steelers | 14. Rams | 13. Bengals | 12. Dolphins | 11. Eagles | 10. Jets

On Nov. 1 last year, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst met with the media. It wasn’t for a victory lap.

The Packers were 2-5. Over the previous five games they averaged 15.6 points. In Jordan Love’s first season as a starter he had a passer rating of 78.2 and a completion percentage of 57.7%, both unacceptable numbers for a regular starting QB. We know how the rest of the movie went, but on that day Love’s future with the Packers was very much in question.

“I think we’ve got 10 games left,” Gutekunst said. “It’s gonna be a very important 10 games.”

Gutekunst also said positive things about Love, such as handling adversity well and showing good flashes within games. It wasn’t a negative speech. But everyone understood the stakes for those last 10 games of the season.

It ended up being 12 games, because the Packers made the playoffs and upset the Dallas Cowboys before nearly knocking off the San Francisco 49ers. In a little more than two months, Love went from a below-average quarterback to an offseason with enough flower bouquets to fill a greenhouse. His hot streak didn’t start right after Gutekunst’s proclamation, but over the last eight games of the regular season he had 18 touchdowns, one interception and a 112.7 passer rating. Then in the playoff win over the Cowboys he had a 157.2 passer rating, barely missing on perfection.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

It’s hard to remember the last time a quarterback went from being roundly criticized to celebrated in such a short…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-offseason-power-rankings-no-9-green-bay-packers-excited-after-jordan-loves-breakout-121214320.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-07-19 12:12:14

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.