Packers’ Matt LaFleur Claps Back at Jordan Love Critics

There were hopes, after Packers quarterback Jordan Love closed the 2023 season on what appeared to be a truly magical run, one that included a 6-2 record to close the year and a stunning upset of the Cowboys on the road in the wild-card round of the playoffs–a game in which he badly outplayed Dallas star Dak Prescott–that 2024 was going to be tinged with magic, too.

The Packers were seen as Super Bowl contenders. Love was an MVP candidate, having just been granted a $220 million contract. He was just entering his second year as The Guy for the Packers, but everything was set for Love and the Packers to ascend to the NFL’s elite.

Except, well, it never really happened. Love was injured late in the opener, a loss to the Eagles, and missed Weeks 2 and 3. After that, the offense as a whole had a difficult time picking up steam, even as the team kept winning games.

By the end of the season, Green Bay was a very respectable 11-6 and lost in a tight game to the eventual-champion Eagles. Not a terrible result. Yet the feeling that the team, and Love in particular, was especially disappointing lingered throughout the closing weeks of the season and into the playoffs. But that sense of disappointment is something that head coach Matt LaFleur can’t abide.

Jordan Love vs. ‘Regression’ Narrative

Speaking of Love and the 2024 season this week, LaFleur said, via The Athletic, “I think there’s like a narrative out there for whatever reason that he wasn’t as productive as the year before. Well, he missed significant time. He missed the better of three games. Really, it was Indy (Week 2). It was Tennessee (Week 3).

“He went out in Jacksonville (Week 8, groin injury) and then he went out in Chicago. So, you know, three games is a significant amount of time and you’re not going to produce as much from a numbers perspective … and also, let’s be honest — we’ve talked about this — we did have a lot of drops last year.”

According to Pro Football Focus, the Packers had a whopping 30 dropped passes, with Jayden Reed ranking No. 3 in the NFL with 10 drops and Dontayvion Wicks ranking No. 7 with nine drops.

Packers Not Seeing a ‘Step Back’

Statistically, Love’s numbers for the Packers were less than impressive in 2024. He threw for 3,389 yards, 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, with a 63.1% completion rate in the regular season.  His quarterback rating went from 96.1 in 2023 to 96.7 in 2024.

Not a giant step forward. But LaFleur argues, not a step back, either.

“I mean, what is a step back is what I’d ask?” LaFleur said. “You know what I mean? Everybody has different opinions, things like that. You gotta block that stuff out. It’s all about the goals of the team at the end of the day. I’d say we won more games than we did the year before. That’s why I ask people, what is a step back?

“Like I said, everybody has opinions, things like that. Try to block that out and focus on doing me and being the best player I can be, like I’ve talked about, and go forward. But at the end of the day, personal stats, things like that, that’s all in the back. You gotta focus on the goals of the team, first and foremost.”