The Green Bay Packers are transitioning from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love as the quarterback.
For better or worse, it is the Jordan Love era of Green Bay Packers football, now and going forward.
After 30-plus years of hall-of-fame-level quarterback play, the Packers decided to move on from their most gifted playmaker ever in Aaron Rodgers. His eccentric personality and unpredictable offseason escapades played a huge part in Green Bay trading him to the New York Jets in the lead-up to the 2023 NFL Draft. He is also pushing 40-years-old. So what's Love got to do with it?
Well, if the Packers still employed Rodgers they would probably win these four games Love won't.
Green Bay Packers lose these four games with Jordan Love, not Aaron Rodgers
4. Week 11: vs. Los Angeles Chargers (Sunday, Nov. 19)
This one might have gone either way, but being at a quarterback disparity with Love going up against the physical freak that is Justin Herbert could be a major issue for the Packers. While I don't trust Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley any further than I can throw him, Love must earn my respect. Weather could be in Green Bay's favor, but they don't have Herbert.
My favorite thing about Herbert as a quarterback is his ability to make fast, hard and accurate throws into tight windows. He has the howitzer of a power pitcher, but the touch of a middle infielder. It serves the Bolts big time going forward to build a championship-caliber football team around him. It should be pointed out not all that long ago Love and Herbert were draft classmates.
See, this is what a true franchise quarterback looks like. Nobody denies what the Chargers have in Herbert. He has the chance to be every bit as good as Philip Rivers and Dan Fouts were before him. As for Love, he will have to make the most of what he's got in a rare meeting vs. the Chargers. It is at home vs. a better team, but Rodgers would have found a way to win this one for Green Bay.
And if the Packers were to have lost at the Pittsburgh Steelers the week prior, Rodgers would win.
3. Week 10: at Pittsburgh Steelers (Sunday, Nov. 12)
Nestled in between games against the two L.A. teams, the Packers will make a trek to Western P.A. to face those pesky Pittsburgh Steelers. It may be a road game, but the Mike Tomlin Steelers have a bad reputation of playing with their food and downright overlooking an opponent they think they are better than at home. It is why they could still lose this one anyway, but hear me out.
As with the Chargers game, it is all about quarterback matchup. If it is Love vs. Kenny Pickett, it is probably a push. Had Rodgers been the Packers' starting quarterback, well, Green Bay would have the decided advantage in that department. Quarterback is the one position where it can make all the difference in tight, hard-fought battles like we would probably expect for this one to go here.
Even though Love is blessed to play in front of the best home crowds in Lambeau, Yinzers will pack Acrisure Stadium to the brim, slinging their terrible towels like there is no tomorrow. Because Love did not play Power Five college football, this will be a hostile road environment he in no way will be used to. Factor in this stadium being where Pickett played college ball at, and there you go.
Love wouldn't lose by much, but every precious road win you can get counts ushering in a new era.
2. Week 14: at New York Giants (Monday, Dec. 11)
This next one plays into the same situation as the Steelers' road game. If Rodgers were the quarterback of the Packers, I would like Green Bay's chances of potentially upsetting the New York Giants late in the season. It will be the Packers' second primetime game in a row. With almost a certain loss occurring the week prior vs. the Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay will really need this one.
Again, this is all about quarterback play. If Rodgers were under center for the Packers, he would be seen as markedly better over an improving Daniel Jones. With Love running the offense, New York would actually have the quarterbacking advantage. When was the last time we could honestly say that? Was Phil Simms the guy for the G-Men, or was Jeff Hostetler filling in for him in the 1990s?
Either way, the Giants are a team the Packers will probably be duking it out for one of three wild card berths in the NFC. There is a chance both clubs could be top-half in-conference, but I don't anticipate either of them winning their division. It is why this mid-December game is so important. With an extra day to prepare, Rodgers would make the play that Love couldn't to win the big game.
It feels like one of those games where the winner hits 10 wins on the year and the other doesn't.
1. Week 4: vs. Detroit Lions (Thursday, Sept. 28)
I don't know what to fricking tell ya, man, but these Detroit Lions are gonna be a fricking wagon pretty soon here, man. They are my pick to win the NFC North this season, against my better judgement. Of course, they do have a quarterback who has been to a Super Bowl more recently than anyone currently playing on the Packers. You can take that with a grain of salt, or you cannot.
Again, as it is with everything in this exercise, quarterback play absolutely matters. Jared Goff is not for everyone, but he is perfect for what the Lions need under center right now. He has complete buy-in from his teammates and was a former No. 1 overall pick out of Cal for a reason. Even if this game is on the road at Lambeau, I trust Goff way more on a short week than I do Love.
Ultimately, this game would have been even more personal for Rodgers, as it was the one that ended the Packers' season only a year ago. There would have been a recharged sense of focus, especially after not getting three all that formidable teams out of the gate in the Chicago Bears, the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints. Rodgers wouldn't lose to the Lions twice in a row.
This is the first real tough test for the Packers this year, so Love need have to show what he's got.
