Now, it’s official. By executing a nearly perfect game while his mentor watched from the opposite sideline, Jordan Love put an exclamation point on the Pack’s much-maligned quarterback succession plan.
Love has clearly demonstrated in his two-and-a-half years as a starter that he is a worthy successor to the two Hall of Famers who preceded him. How high his ceiling is remains to be seen. Still, he reminded the football world, and any of his remaining detractors, that he belongs in any spirited debate about the best quarterbacks in the league with his magical performance Sunday night in Pittsburgh.
The build-up for this matchup was as big as it gets for a late October game. Aaron Rodgers facing his former team for the first and likely last time, hoping to join the exclusive club of QBs who have beaten all 32 teams, looking to show that there’s still some juice left in that rocket arm.
Rodgers was fine, but Love was magical.
It starts up front, with a great pass-blocking performance by the now-healthy offensive line, which kept Love upright all night, allowed zero sacks and just five hits, neutralizing one of the toughest groups of pass rushers in the league.
Getting Christian Watson back on the field just nine months removed from his ACL injury was a massive development for this offense. I figured they’d keep the training wheels on, throw him out there for 10 to 12 plays, and let him knock the rust off.
The team had a different idea. Watson caught Love’s first pass of the game, played more than half the snaps, and caught all four of his targets for 85 yards, including the off-balance bomb that landed in his arms inside the five-yard line that served as a dagger for the Steelers’ defense.
Watson’s blend of size, speed, and physicality has been sorely missed, and he showed the impact he can have with and without the ball. He’s also one of the best blocking WRs in the league and helped spring Tucker Kraft for his first touchdown.
OK, so we’re more than 300 words in and I’ve finally brought up Kraft’s name. Not sure you heard, but Sunday was National Tight End Day in the NFL. So, naturally, Kraft delivered the game of his career with seven catches for 143 yards and two scores. Remarkably, all but 12 of those yards came after the catch — the most YAC by a tight end in the league in seven years. Watson’s presence was a factor. He commands the attention of safeties who might otherwise be locked in on Kraft.
Kraft is quickly developing into a top-three tight end in the league. Youngsters Tyler Warren and Brock Bowers are in the conversation, as is Arizona’s Trey McBride. Still, I’m not sure any of them give you the whole package that Kraft provides: reliability, hands, toughness, tackle breaking, and good blocking.
It’s not hyperbolic to believe that he can be the focal point of this offense, à la Travis Kelce in Kansas City all those years. With the speed of Watson and Matthew Golden, playmakers in Romeo Doubs and soon Jayden Reed, this offense has talent that can rise on any given Sunday. But Kraft should probably be the centerpiece. He’s just scratching the surface of the player he might become.
The running game is still a work in progress. You have to think Josh Jacobs is not close to 100% with that calf injury. He doesn’t have his usual explosiveness, and he’s not breaking tackles like we’re accustomed to seeing. Green Bay smartly turned to Emanuel Wilson in the third quarter, and he should be credited for helping unlock the offense when they erupted for three consecutive touchdown drives in the second half.
The Pack also got nice contributions from Malik Heath and Savion Williams, who scored his first touchdown — something Golden somehow is still waiting to accomplish.
The headline on the defensive side of the ball was the decision to bench Nate Hobbs (hooray!) and give Carrington Valentine a shot at outside corner. The results were clear. Despite his hefty free agent price tag, Hobbs belongs on the bench, staying ready to step in at slot corner in case Javon Bullard gets hurt. Valentine was physical, aggressive, and didn’t back down against D.K. Metcalf, one of the strongest receivers in the league. He was the Pack’s best corner on this night.
There wasn’t a lot of competition, because Keisean Nixon had his worst game of the season, with a couple of terrible penalties, several plays that he just didn’t finish, and a muff the one time the team turned to him at punt returner. Let’s hope this was an aberration, because the team needs the Nixon we saw in the first few weeks of the season.
The defense deserves credit for locking down on third downs all night. Rodgers and Co. converted just one of 10 third downs, forcing the Steelers to settle for three field goals in the first half, when the Pack’s offense was snoozing. The game could’ve gotten away from them by halftime.
When Brandon McManus missed a 44-yard field goal at the end of the half that would’ve cut the lead to one possession, any momentum was dashed — especially since Pittsburgh would be getting the ball to start the third quarter. But the defense got a three-and-out, the Packers drove the length of the field and scored, and the game script had officially flipped. Green Bay scored 28 of the next 31 points, and the defense’s only blemish was the garbage-time touchdown late in the game.
The hand-wringing about the Pack’s performance on the road this season can be put to bed. They didn’t beat a great team on Sunday night, but they beat a solid division leader that always plays well at home, especially after a loss and in the underdog role.
Packer fans invaded Acrisure Field for this historic matchup, a place with fans as rabid as Green Bay’s. The Packers fans were so loud that the “Go Pack Go” chants were clear as day for those of us watching, and loud enough that Rodgers had to go to a silent count in his own stadium. It had to be surreal for him to hear those chants while he was trying to lead his team on offense.
The Packers are starting to round into shape, and Watson and Devonte Wyatt‘s returns can not be overstated. But this was a night where Jordan Love showed that he can tune out the chatter, tip his cap to his mentor across the field, and dominate on the game’s biggest stage.
That kind of performance should make everyone believe he and the Packers are in the exclusive club of elite Super Bowl contenders in 2025.
