First things first. This will not be an over-evaluation or over-reaction of Jordan Love’s NFL debut for the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night. This exercise is meant to observe Love’s 17 passing attempts, one-by-one, in an attempt to find interesting or noteworthy aspects regarding his development as a passer.
Love completed 12 of 17 passes for 122 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions over 28 total snaps against the Texans. His passer rating was 110.4. He also lost one fumble. The Packers scored on one of his drives in the first half.
Here’s a play-by-play breakdown of Love’s debut:
No. 1: An RPO to open the game. You can see Love peak over to see where the cornerback is playing just before the snap. He was 7-8 yards off, so Love took the snap and fired quick to Malik Taylor, who gained a few easy yards despite an awkward YAC attempt.
No. 2: Boot action to his right. Pressure off the edge came quick, so he dumped it down to Jace Sternberger for a short gain. With another half-second, he might have been able to hit the second-level crosser to Devin Funchess, who had some separation moving left to right.
No. 3: The third-down throw to Amari Rodgers falls incomplete. The throw was actually perfect and probably should have created a conversion. Rodgers couldn’t complete the play in heavy traffic. One thing here: On the left side, Funchess cleared out the coverage from Jace Sternberger, who ran a hitch to the sticks. This might have been the better option.
No. 4: A checkdown to A.J. Dillon. This was an encouraging snap from Love. He went through his progressions quickly, going right to left, and when he felt pressure, he stepped up in the pocket and then found the outlet. Maybe he could have run ahead for a few yards, but all eyes were on him. The process here was good.
No. 5: The Packers ran a staple mesh play on third down but the protection failed. It’s possible Love could anticipated Funchess coming across the field, but he had to wait for Funchess to clear through and get into a passing window, and by the time he did, a defender was closing in. Love was hit as he threw incomplete.
No. 6: His best throw of the night, going over the top of the linebacker to find Jace Sternberger for 34 yards on third down. A rusher was closing in, too. He put the right angle on the ball to get it over the linebacker and the right velocity to beat the two-high safeties. A pretty throw.
No. 7: Three-step drop from the gun, ball out, easy completion to Funchess on the left side. Good timing and rhythm here.
No. 8: Third-and-4. Love recognized the coverage and hit Taylor on the slant for the conversion. Again, the timing was good. Three steps, fire. It was on time and mostly accurate.
No. 9: Love to Funchess for another first down. Funchess ran an in-breaker and was wide open, but Love led him a little too far inside and the veteran receiver had to make a circus catch. This is one where you’d like to see Love fire it on the numbers and let the receiver run after the catch.
No. 10: Immediate pressure off the formation’s right side forced Love to throw hot to Sternberger in the flat for a short gain. Given the circumstances of the play, this was a win.
No. 11: Perfectly executed screen play for the touchdown. Love kept the defense honest post-snap with his eyes before dumping it down to Kylin Hill.
No. 12: A little indecision here on the slant/flat route combo, and Love airmailed the throw to the running back in the flat. He might have been able to squeeze it into Funchess on the slant, but it was a tight window.
No. 13: Good timing on a quick throw to Taylor on the out-route for five yards. Easy read, accurate throw.
No. 14: A protection breakdown on third down didn’t rattle Love, who found Funchess on the crosser. It was close to a conversion. The encouraging thing here was finding the right target downfield with a free runner in his face.
No. 15: Probably his worst snap of the night. Matt LaFleur called it a “brain fart.” The Packers had a terrific play called on fourth down but Love opened up the wrong way on the boot action and messed up the play. Amari Rodgers was wide open moving left to right and would have easily converted had Love turned the right way. He ended up throwing the ball up to Funchess, who probably should have made the catch downfield.
No. 16: This is another one where you’d like to see him really let it rip, as LaFleur mentioned post-game. It was an in-breaking route to Funchess off a quick run fake. Love aimed it a little bit and Funchess had to go to the ground to make the catch, ruining the opportunity to run after. Still, it’s a completion and a first down.
No. 17: His final play was the strip-sack. A deep drop from the shotgun allowed the edge rusher to get around Yosh Nijman and knock the ball out of Love’s hands as he was attempting to step up and deliver. The television broadcast didn’t provide a good look at where Love wanted to go with the ball downfield. A big play might have been available.
Result: Love was injured on the strip-sack. On the next drive, he handed off three times. The Packers pulled him at halftime.
Conclusion: Love looked poised in the pocket. He appeared to make good decisions with the football. He played well from a clean pocket. His accuracy wasn’t perfect, but he probably just needs to be more decisive and less hesitant in trusting his natural arm talent. Remember, this was his first football game in over 600 days. For the most part, the process looked good. This was a strong start – and nothing more, nothing less – for a young player who didn’t get to play during his entire rookie season.
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