There is no doubt the NFC North is loaded with offensive talent. Now that the Chicago Bears have drafted Caleb Williams and the Vikings have selected J.J. McCarthy, the quarterback position has a chance of being a real problem in the NFC North. Pairing those two young phenoms up with Jared Goff and Packers’ Jordan Love could make for a tough time for any opposing defense.
Goff has been around the league for a while, but Love is fairly new in the spotlight. 2023 was his first full season starting for Green Bay, and it appears that the Packers, once again, have another face of the franchise.
Vikings defensive lineman Harrison Phillips spoke at length about Love and the huge difference between facing him the first time last season compared to the second.
“I don’t know if I’ve seen a player within a season progress that much,” said Phillips. “We went to Lambeau earlier in the year and won pretty comfortably. We pressured him quite a bit. We made him struggle a lot. I always wanted to play Aaron Rodgers the first couple of weeks in the year because he’s not able to see our defense, and he’s not able to pick up the tells of our new calls. And I think he put off some of that knowledge into Jordan Love. When we saw him at the end of the year, I just saw him comfortable. He’s buying time, he’s letting his receivers get open. He’s knowing what’s the weak part of our defense. He’s got the arm strength, he’s got the talent, his football IQ is what grew the most for me from playing him the first to the second time.”
Brian Flores will have to have solid game plans going forward on the defensive side of the football when his Vikings’ defense faces Love and the Packers. Relentless pressure will be a big key for Minnesota in 2024.