A disordered first half filled with missed shots, turnovers and downs helped put the Green Bay Packers in a 28-0 hole, but the passing game eventually calmed down and ended with Jordan Love’s impressive return to the field on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.
Love’s stats highlighted a set of mixes: 32 completions, but on 54 attempts – for a final completion percentage of 59.2. Four passing touchdowns, but three interceptions – including two that led directly to Vikings touchdowns.
Good performance at the end of the game was not enough for the Packers to overcome the initial deficit after a 31-29 defeat at Lambeau Field.
Love had problems with accuracy at the beginning, but he finally recovered and made great plays in the second half. He admitted that he wasn’t good enough at first.
“The ball placement was a little off today,” Love said. “After that everything calmed down, but at the beginning I just missed a few shots and was a little absent. I was giving some receivers a difficult time on some of those plays.
Love and Dontayvion Wicks missed several early attempts, including a third down in the red zone. Love’s accuracy was a bit impoverished and Wicks was unable to make some gigantic catches.
However, Love finished with 389 passing yards and hit five different catchers for receptions of 20 or more yards. He threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Reed, a 6-yard pass to Wicks, a 13-yard pass to Tucker Kraft and a 17-yard pass to Wicks, as well as a two-point conversion to Kraft.
Love said the Packers left “a lot of action” on the field, especially in the first half.
The Packers’ passing game looks set to launch in 2024 and still has a chance to explode as Love returns from injury and they look for better performance in the future. Ball placement and finishing just needs to be a little better.
“I definitely like where we are as a team,” Love said. “The quarterbacks we have and the team we have, I definitely like where we are.”
Love said his left knee “feels good” after Sunday’s game, even though he took a painful hit to the knee early on. He also said he “felt good” moving around the pocket, although his mobility during takeoff and climb was constrained.
Love said that in terms of participation in practices, it was constrained at the beginning of the week, but eventually required more and more team reps. He wasn’t sure if he would have to deal with the knee injury throughout the season and expressed hope that it would eventually heal.
Love and the Packers will face the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday.
