Green Bay, Wisconsin Early on Sunday night, there was a noticeable odor coming from the home locker room at Lambeau Field, along with some smoke. The source was the victory cigars.
Jordan Love, welcome to the postseason.
Less than a month ago, following the Week 15 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it appeared unlikely—a 27% chance, to be exact—but after the Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears 17-9 in Sunday’s Lambeau Field regular-season finale, it became a definite thing.
Next weekend, the No. 7-seeded Packers will take on the second-seeded Dallas Cowboys in the wild-card round.
In his first season as the starting quarterback on a full-time basis, Love accomplished something that neither Aaron Rodgers nor Brett Favre could have: he guided the Packers to a postseason appearance. Favre and Rodgers didn’t lead the Packers to the postseason until their second season together as starters.
Matt LaFleur, the coach of the Packers, described Love as “just resilient.” “It is impossible to coach those things. You can discuss it until your face turns blue while you sit there. But he does have that quality, and I respect him for it—the capacity to maintain composure in the face of difficulty and guide our squad.”
This is coming from a quarterback who had only started one NFL game before this season, which was two years ago. It was unclear halfway through the season whether Love would even start at quarterback for his squad the next year.
With a cigar lodged in his headband, Packers cornerback Jordan Alexander declared, “I said it back in camp; he’s the best quarterback in the league.” “And for the last few weeks, he has been proving it.”
Having completed 27 out of 32 throws for 316 yards and two touchdowns, he finished with a completion percentage of 84.4%, making him one of the greatest quarterbacks in the league. It was his highest completion percentage and the second-most passing yards he has ever gained in a game in his short career.
And this is from the NFL’s newest team, which had previously dropped to 2-5 after suffering four straight losses.
“The 2–5 start was difficult,” Love remarked. “But sticking together was the most important thing we did. Everyone entered the building looking for ways to strive to improve both individually and as a team. For us, it has undoubtedly been a process. It’s not been simple. There have been highs and lows, but we have persevered, managed to go on a winning streak, and, as I mentioned earlier, put ourselves in this situation. Bravo to all the players in the changing area.”
Last season, the Packers were in a similar situation—win in Week 18 to secure a spot—but ultimately lost to the Lions at home in Aaron Rodgers’ last game with the team. Love was Rodgers’ backup, and the Packers ended 8-9 last season and missed the playoffs with him on the sidelines.
Now that he has guided the Packers to the postseason in four of his five seasons, LaFleur remarked, “It’s a different year, a different club.” “I’m over discussing last year,”
After that Buccaneers loss, this squad was virtually in playoff form, winning three straight games to finish 9-8.
The Packers’ offense was embodied in the game on Sunday. Following the injury to Romeo Doubs’ chest in the first half and the absence of Christian Watson (hamstring), the Packers had 31 receiving touchdowns from first- and second-year players, tied with the 1960 New York Titans for the second-highest total in NFL history (tied with the 1961 Oilers, 44), according to Elias Sports Bureau. Rookie fifth-round pick Dontayvion Wicks caught two of those touchdown passes.
The Packers sacked Bears quarterback Justin Fields five times after defensive coordinator Joe Barry, who is frequently criticized, ordered several well-timed blitzes. The game on Sunday wasn’t without its unsettling moments, though.
In the first quarter, rookie Anders Carlson missed a field goal from 41 yards out. The game was tied at six points after the Packers mishandled their final drive of the first half, running out of time deep in Bears territory before they could attempt a field goal. Then, late in the third quarter of a 14-6 contest, Love stumbled on a scramble close to the middle.
With 13:03 left, the Bears were down 14-9, but all they could muster was another field goal following that mistake. With 10:54 remaining, the Packers had to settle for another field goal and a 17-9 lead following a 59-yard catch-and-run by rookie Jayden Reed (who had four catches for 112 yards).
The offense ran out the last six minutes and eight seconds, led by Love, who completed 27-of-32 throwing for 316 yards and two touchdowns.
Running back Aaron Jones (22 carries for 111 yards) led the Packers into the postseason with a streak of three consecutive games with 100 yards or more.
According to Jones, “they truly counted us out when we were down, and they counted us out before we even got an opportunity.” The finest aspect, though, was our belief in this locker room, in my opinion. All you need is the fact that we stayed united. The procedure was in place. We improved every week, and it’s incredible that we came out on top—especially considering that we were in a similar predicament the previous year and didn’t fare well.”
But other players didn’t get to enjoy the cigars after the game.
Packers right guard Jon Runyan stated, “I wish I would have gotten the memo because I would have lit one up, too.” “I guess we’ll have to wait till the Super Bowl now, but I would have loved to be featured on it.”
Leave a Reply