The Green Bay Packers faced a great deal of criticism last offseason when they decided to trade Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets to make way for Jordan Love to take over as their starting quarterback. Despite having a down year in 2022, many fans and analysts believed that Rodgers gave the Packers their best chance to win now. Many of these same fans and analysts did not like the fact that Green Bay had drafted Love in the first place.
Regardless, Love was entering his fourth season in the NFL. It was time. 2022 saw Rodgers have the worst season of his career as a starter, and his attitude towards the Packers’ front office grew more and more sour with each passing year.
In the eyes of the Packers’ organization, it was now or never in terms of allowing Love to take over. They signed him to a two-year contract that increased his salary for 2023 and bought out his fifth-year option for 2024 and let him loose.
Jordan Love Had the Best Season by a First Year Starting Quarterback in Green Bay Packers History
Green Bay did not get off to a great start with Love under center. In addition to having a new starting quarterback, the Packers completely revamped their tight end room and drafted three new rookie wide receivers, two of which were Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks.
The Packers got off to a 2-5 start and Love had done little to convince anyone that he was truly the quarterback of the future in Green Bay. However, the young quarterback and his offense put it all together in the second half of the season, winning seven of their final ten games while Love threw 21 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
The Packers finished 9-8 and clinched the final spot in the NFC Playoffs. They then upset the Dallas Cowboys on the road in the Wild Card Round before losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round.
Love ended the year with a 64.2% completion percentage, 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions to go with a 96.1 passer rating.
As mentioned, it was the best season in Packers’ history by a first year starting quarterback.
| Quarterback | Completion % | Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Passer Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Love | 64.2% | 4,159 | 32 | 11 | 96.1 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 63.6% | 4,038 | 28 | 13 | 93.8 |
| Brett Favre | 64.1% | 3,227 | 18 | 13 | 85.3 |
It also made Love the first quarterback in NFL history to have those kinds of numbers before his third year starting.
Green Bay Packers Quarterback Jordan Love Made NFL History in 2023
According to Eli Berkovits of CBS Sports and Packer Report, Love became the first player in NFL history to have 32+touchdowns, 4,100+ passing yards, and 11 or fewer interceptions in a season before his third year as a starting quarterback:
As Berkovits notes, only 16 quarterbacks in NFL history have ever had those kinds of numbers in a season. None of them did it in their first or second year as a starter.
Love’s predecessor, Aaron Rodgers, reached those benchmark numbers six times. The first time he reached them was in 2011, his fourth year as a starter and the year and he won his first NFL MVP Award.
As Love gets better and better the more he plays, his production will only improve as well.
