The Kansas City Chiefs won their third Super Bowl in five years after beating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in Super Bowl LVIII, cementing themselves as a dynasty in today’s NFL. The Green Bay Packers could only win one with Aaron Rodgers, but they are trying to become a dynastic force with Jordan Love under center.
Love took the first step by beating Patrick Mahomes this season. Love played much better than he did in his first career start against the Chiefs two years ago. Is Love’s growth against a team like the Chiefs a sign of things to come in Green Bay?
In November 2021, Love was unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight when Rodgers was inactive due to COVID-19. They faced the reigning AFC Champion Chiefs in Kansas City. Love didn’t play horribly, but he didn’t play well, either. He completed 19 of 34 passes for only 190 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. The Packers only scored once in a 13-7 loss.
Two years later, Love faced Kansas City again. This year, the Chiefs had a much better defense than they have in the past. Kansas City ranked second-overall in total defense, fourth-overall in pass defense, and second-overall in scoring defense. Needless to say, the KC had one of the league’s premier defenses this year.
Still, Love completed 25 of 36 passes for 267 yards, three touchdowns, and no turnovers against defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s unit. He also helped score 27 points against a unit that allowed only 17.3 points per game this season. Love outplayed Mahomes, who threw for 210 yards, one touchdown, and one pick against an inferior Green Bay defense. Love also made crucial throws down the field into coverage to generate big plays in the passing game.
It was only one game, and one game alone doesn’t define how good a player is or how he is developing. But, during the regular season, Love threw for 4,159 yards to Mahomes’ 4,183; Love also had 32 touchdown passes to Mahomes’ 27. He also threw only 11 interceptions to Mahomes’ 14. Overall, Love finished with a quarterback rating of 96.1 in 2023, which is good enough to qualify for the Pro Bowl in most years. Mahomes finished with a 92.6 rating, which is still excellent but lower than Love’s.
Even though they won another Lombardi Trophy, Mahomes had his worst statistical year since he became a starter in 2018. Statistically, he was the 14th-ranked quarterback in the league this year. But he deserves some slack, given that his top wide receivers, outside of Travis Kelce, were Rashee Rice and Justin Watson. The Chiefs also lost six games in the regular season, the most in one year since 2017, when Mahomes backed up Alex Smith.
Even though they lost six games this year, they had more of a complete team around Mahomes. They won games with overall performances instead of constantly forcing him to steal a victory on some last-minute drives. But Love was also working with a young receiving corps, and Mahomes has a future Hall of Famer with Kelce as his tight end.
Some fans may try to call that Sunday night game this year a fluke, and it may have been. Maybe Green Bay overachieved and caught the Chiefs on a bad night. But Love had six games where he threw for three touchdowns and no interceptions, including the postseason. He also only had one game where he did not throw for a score – Green Bay’s 17-13 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Love has proven that he can consistently replicate strong performances. He played well enough that the win over the Chiefs wasn’t a fluke.
He beat the Chiefs and defeated the Detroit Lions, who made it to the NFC Championship game this year. Love also dismantled the second-seeded Dallas Cowboys in Arlington in the playoffs. Had he decided not to throw across his body, or had the defense not allowed a game-winning drive, the Packers could have played in the NFC Championship this year.
Love has outplayed superior opponents this season. He has improved considerably in his first year as the starter, evolving from the player he was when he faced Kansas City in 2021. Love has consistently put up similar numbers to Mahomes, who many view as the greatest player of all time. If he can continue to progress the way he has so far, and the defense can play at a higher level, there are exciting things to come to the frozen tundra.
