This wasn’t Jordan Love’s fault. The Packers’ backup quarterback, pressed into service against the Chiefs on Sunday after Aaron Rodgers tested positive for COVID and was automatically removed from consideration for the game due to his unvaccinated status, was up against it, even though he was playing against a Kansas City defense that has been more susceptible than most. In a 13-7 loss, Love completed 19 of 34 passes for 190 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and a passer rating of 69.5.
As you would expect from a quarterback making his first NFL start, and had thrown just seven regular-season passes in his regular-season professional career, Love was off-schedule with his receivers, was unable to sustain drives, and was generally… if not overwhelmed, certainly underwhelming.
But before you blame the second-year pro from Utah State, consider the fact that he didn’t have the full week to prepare as the starter. Rodgers officially tested positive on Wednesday, which means that head coach Matt LaFleur and his staff had very little time to get Love ready for this game. The results were about what you’d expect.
The Packers were able to move the ball decently enough on the ground, with 122 rushing yards on 25 carries, but Love’s inefficiency and inconsistency stopped the Packers over and over when Rodgers would have highly likely done more. The Packers had two three-and-outs, one drive that ended with a missed field goal, another that ended with a blocked field goal, four total drives that ended in punts, one that ended in an interception, and the last Packers drive, which ended in a 20-yard touchdown pass from Love to Allen Lazard — aided radically by Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen’s indifferent coverage.
The interception was one of many that could have happened…
Oh no, Jordan.
Love throws his first NFL interception.#LocalsInTheNFL #NFL #GBvsKC #GoPackGo #AggiesAllTheWay @kslsportspic.twitter.com/mMEn5qHQiy
— Kyle Ireland (@kyleireland) November 8, 2021
…and the touchdown was more a gift from Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who keeps trotting Sorensen out on the field despite the fact that he gets roasted like a Thanksgiving turkey more often than not.
Welcome to the NFL, Jordan Love — his first career touchdown pass goes to Allen Lazard.
And just like that, the #Packers are right back in this game.pic.twitter.com/PqafgoNTEy
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) November 8, 2021
The Packers were technically in the game at that point, but they never really were, and that’s with Patrick Mahomes continuing to struggle as he has through most of the season. Mahomes completed 20 of 37 passes for just 166 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 74.8.
This was something Aaron Rodgers could have overcome. In the Packers’ previous game, Rodgers helped the Packers get past the previously undefeated Cardinals, which put them at the top of the NFC with their 7-1 record. Now, with the Packers losing and the Cardinals putting it to the 49ers, the Packers rank second in the conference standings, and the only real reason for that is that Aaron Rodgers chose not to get vaccinated, based on information he could not coherently explain, and against science that he opposed for reasons that are specious at best.
As an unvaccinated player, Rodgers will become eligible to play the day before Green Bay’s Week 10 game against the Seahawks. Which means that at least LaFleur and his staff can help Jordan Love prepare for his second NFL start, should Rodgers’ egregious thought processes hamstring his team once again.
For now, there’s no more simple way to put it: Aaron Rodgers cost his team the NFC’s one-seed, and he did it for all the wrong reasons.