In a recent interview, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love pushed back at the idea that the team took a step back in the 2024 season. The quarterback pointed to the team having won more games and made it clear that his stats are secondary. However, this does ignore the reasons why the question is being asked in the first place. Love's numbers did regress, and there was a lack of consistency that defines the careers of the elite quarterbacks of the league. It is fair to question the quarterback when this hasn't been there.
It isn't to suggest Love isn't ultra talented or capable of making the leap. Rather, there is room to ask questions when your stats dip and you don't take the leap many expected. Add in the fact that the Packers fell out of the playoffs without making noise, and the question of whether or not this team suffered a bit of regression is completely fair.
"What is a step back, is what I’d ask. Everybody has different opinions, things like that. You’ve got to 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. So that’s why I ask people, what is a step back? Everybody has opinions and things like that, you try to block that out and just focus on doing me, being the best player I can be and go forward. At the end of the day, personal stats and things like that, that’s all in the back. You’ve got to focus on goals of the team first and foremost."Jordan Love
A year ago at this time, Love was being talked about among the league's potentially elite quarterbacks. This conversation has cooled, as has the excitement around Green Bay's potential playoff ceiling. Whether or not this is fair, the questions are all due to Love's inconsistent 2024 performance.
Maybe instead of pushing back against critics, the quarterback would be better served to expound on the ways he plans to improve in the 2025 season. The potential elite ceiling still exists for Love. It isn't as if the talent has left the promising player, or Green Bay's young talent isn't still clearly present. However, it must be pointed out that the 2024 season didn't live up to expectations.
Green Bay was expected to be a challenger for the division and not playing a third wheel to the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. Love's comments feel defensive over a season that was undeniably frustrating.