The Packers failed to get out of the first round of the playoffs after making it to the divisional round in 2023 and quarterback Jordan Love’s numbers were down from his first season as a starter in several categories, so it isn’t a major surprise that one talking point coming out of the 2024 season was whether Love took a step backward.
Neither Love nor the Packers agree with that assessment. Head coach Matt LaFleur pointed to the time Love missed with knee and groin injuries as a reason why his yards and touchdowns dipped while Love focused on the fact that the Packers were 11-6 after going 9-8 the previous season.
“What is a step back, is what I’d ask,” Love said, via Ryan Wood of PackersNews.com. “Everybody has different opinions, things like that. You’ve got to 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. So that’s why I ask people, what is a step back? Everybody has opinions and things like that, you try to block that out and just focus on doing me, being the best player I can be and go forward. At the end of the day, personal stats and things like that, that’s all in the back. You’ve got to focus on goals of the team first and foremost.”
Love’s passer rating and yards per attempt were higher in 2024 than it was in 2023 and he didn’t throw an interception in the final seven games of the regular season, so there are also numbers that push back at the notion of regression. More of the same in 2025 along with a record that lifts the Packers higher than the seventh seed in the NFC should put the conversation to rest once and for all.
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