SPORTS LINE

Here we come!
Jordon Love became the first quarterback in Packers history to reach the playoffs in his first year as the full-time starter. The Green Bay Packers have achieved a goal that very few thought they would be able to reach before the 2023 NFL season began. With their 17-9 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon, Jordan Love and the Packers are headed to the playoffs. The Packers earned the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoffs and will travel next week to face No. 2 seed Dallas. Love’s improvement has driven the Packers into the playoffs, and just like his predecessor, he’s dominated the arch-rival Bears. Love is now 2-0 as a starter against Chicago, with Green Bay collecting its 10th consecutive win in the one-sided rivalry. Throughout the season, the story surrounding the team was whether Love and his young offense could prove that he and they were the future of the franchise. Of course, Love was the most scrutinized and criticized member of the team. Many doubted that he would ever be good enough to take over the reins from Aaron Rodgers.

Despite the doubts, Love’s first year as a starter surpassed Rodgers’ in just about every way when he was a rookie. Only two quarterbacks in the history of the NFL had a better first year starting than Love in 2023. Love finished the 2023 season with a 64.2% completion percentage, 4,159 passing yards, 32 touchdown passes, 11 interceptions, and a passer rating of 96.1. Not only did he supersede both Rodgers and Brett Favre for the best seasons by a first-year starter in franchise history, but he also had one of the best seasons by a first-year starter in NFL history. In that Bears game, by the way, Love went 84.4 in passing completion percentage, the second-highest of any quarterback in Packer history for one game (Favre went 85.5 in one game years ago).