Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love became the team’s first first-year starting quarterback to lead the franchise to the playoffs, tossed the fourth-most touchdown passes by a first-year starter in NFL history and joined one Hall of Famer and one future Hall of Famer among the most prolific seasons ever produced by a first-year starter in NFL.
All that in more from this week’s Dope Sheet.
Per the team, Love is the only first-year starter to lead the Packers to the postseason since at least 1950. Green Bay won three straight games and six of the final eight to make the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the NFC.
Love threw 32 touchdown passes, which ranks behind only Patrick Mahomes (50, 2018), Kurt Warner (41, 1999) and Daunte Culpepper (33, 2000) for the most ever by a first-year starter.
Love’s 4,159 passing yards and 32 touchdowns made him just the third quarterback — joining Mahomes and Warner — to throw for at least 4,000 yards and 32 touchdown passes in their first season as a starter.
Of course, Love got the benefit of the additional seventh seed to make the playoffs, and he got a 17th regular season game to add to his passing totals.
Other incredible facts from the Dope Sheet on Love:
— Love led the NFL in games with multiple touchdown passes and zero interceptions with nine.
— Love was tied with Brock Purdy for the NFL lead in games with three more touchdown passes and zero interceptions with five.
— Love ranked second in the NFL in touchdown passes (trailing only Dak Prescott) and fourth in the NFL in total touchdowns (36).
— Love tied for the NFL lead in games with a passer rating of at least 100.0.
— Love joined Aaron Rodgers as the only Packers quarterbacks to produce at least 30 touchdown passes and four rushing touchdowns in a season.
— The Packers were the fourth-youngest team by average age to make the playoffs since 1970.
— The Packers made the playoffs for the first time in team history after winning three or fewer games in their first nine games.
— The Packers joined the 49ers as the only teams to rank in the top six of the NFL in sacks allowed (third), giveaways (tied for sixth) and third down conversions (fifth).
— The Packers set new NFL records for catches (191) and receiving yards (2,250) by rookies. The team had 206 games played by rookies, the most in team history.