Reasons for optimism around Jordan Love and Packers offense

The Green Bay Packers loss to the Raiders was disappointing for a lot of fans and was hard to watch. The Packers are 2–3 on the bye week and are on a two-game losing streak. Jordan Love, in particular, struggled against a Raiders defense that was in the bottom third of most defensive metrics and he threw interceptions.

Love has struggled over the past two games, only putting up 30 points. The offense looked disjointed and couldn’t get into a rhythm all game, struggling to sustain drives outside of the lone touchdown drive in the third quarter.

There are questions about whether Love can be the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers or not.  I think he still can be and there is a reason for optimism for Love, even though the last two games don’t look good. In this article, I will detail why there should still be belief in the Love, what he needs to improve upon, what the team as a whole needs to do better, and what Matt Lafleur needs to do play-calling-wise to put him in a better position to succeed.

Packers Deep Passing Game

Love is first in the NFL in Average Depth of Target (ADOT) among starting quarterbacks, with a 9.85 ADOT, according to FTN Fantasy. ADOT is a metric that is used to determine how far downfield a receiver is. This means Jordan Love is attacking downfield more often than any quarterback. Love hasn’t been accurate on deep throws yet this season. He is 6-for-24 with two interceptions on throws over 20 yards, according to Zach Kruse Packers Wire.

Packers receivers have had a handful of drops on some of the accurate deep throws Love has had. It is a combination of both that is leading to a struggling deep-passing game. The deep passing game has been very close to hitting, and if the offense can correct a couple of little things, then Love’s numbers will look a lot better.

Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love has had an up-and-down first five games, but there is optimism that he can be the long-term starter.

Get Love on the Move

One area in which Love has excelled is when he is on the move, especially bootleg action. He seems more comfortable when he is outside the pocket and can use his legs. Another way for Love to use his legs is on run-pass option plays or RPOs. He has struggled with decision-making on the RPO plays he has had, including his first interception against the Raiders last week. The issue could be he doesn’t trust the running game because it has been bad. It was clear on his first interception he shouldn’t have pulled it and should have handed it off to the running back. It is hard for a young quarterback to get anything going when there is no running game, and the offense becomes one-dimensional.

Offensive Line Struggles 

There has been a lot of shuffling along the offensive line, with David Bakhtiari only playing one game, Elgton Jenkins missing a couple of games, and Josh Myers struggling at center. The offensive line was supposed to be a strength coming into the season but has struggled immensely. Having a good offensive line is the most important thing for a young quarterback, and when Love has had time to throw, he has made the correct reads. The offensive line held up well in Week 1 against Chicago, and it was Love’s best game as a pro.

This season is an evaluation year for Jordan Love and there have been some highs and some lows. Love has already had a 17-point comeback win but has struggled the past two weeks. In the first couple of weeks of the season, he was leading the league in touchdown passes and passer rating but has five interceptions in his last two games. The flashes from Jordan Love have been really good and make him look like he could be a top-five quarterback in the league. The talent is all there; it is on him and Matt LaFleur to put in positions to succeed.