The Green Bay Packers quarterback, was not at his best and was without his customary starting center during the game. This proved to be an issue in the Packers’ 24-14 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
After missing the previous week’s game against Jacksonville due to a groin strain, Love returned just in time to face the NFC North-leading Lions.
However, he wasn’t as crisp as normal and threw a crucial pick-six in the last minute of the second quarter, allowing Detroit (7-1) to seize command.
Following the game, Love asserted that the injury had no effect on his performance. “No, I felt fine,” Love said. He completed 23 of 39 throws for 273 yards but threw no touchdown passes. Several of his receivers dropped passes on a rainy day.
Jordan Love’s worst error occurred just before halftime. The Packers (6-3) were trailing 10-3 and faced a second-and-2 from their own 38 when Love, under pressure, rolled to his right.
He attempted a short ball intended for Josh Jacobs, but Lions defender Kerby Joseph intercepted it and ran 27 yards for a touchdown with 32 seconds remaining before halftime.
Love stated that he did not see Joseph when he made the throw.
“I saw (Jacobs) trying to get out and was trying to dump it down,” he added. “It was a check-down to him, and the ball did not travel where I intended it to. They made a good play with it.”
This season, Love has thrown ten interceptions in 240 attempts. Last season, as a first-year starter, he had 11 interceptions on 579 attempts.
“He’s fighting, he’s competing, and we know we have to take care of the football,” said Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. “But I have no doubts about what he is trying to do. We just need to do it better.
The Packers trailed 24-3 and battled with multiple botched snaps as they attempted to rally. Elgton Jenkins, the starting left guard, was forced to play center because Josh Myers was out with a wrist injury.
Love fumbled two plays in a succession in the third quarter as the Packers faced a second-and-10 at Detroit’s 14-yard line. The Packers recovered both fumbles but had to settle for a 38-yard field goal by Brandon McManus.
Love also mishandled a snap early in the fourth quarter after getting to the Detroit 36. Jacobs was stopped on fourth-and-1 from the 9-yard line, which brought the drive to a halt.
“There’s a lot of things we’ve got to clean up,” Love told me. “The mishandled snaps are due to the ball being wet and rainy, and we need to improve our exchange with Elgton. It definitely happened too many times. The drops are about making plays when the conditions aren’t ideal. Clearly, it was damp, and there were too many drops.
Romeo Doubs, who grabbed four passes on five targets for 28 yards, acknowledged that the receivers needed to help Love more. “Catching footballs in the rain is not ideal for a receiver, but it’s not an excuse for us all,” he remarked.
“We will let this be a learning experience and get better by watching the film, adjusting to whatever weather we have coming up for the rest of this month and the rest of the year.”
The Packers have a lot of room for improvement as they enter their bye week. They gained more yards than the Lions (411 to 261) but were unable to complete drives. In four trips to the red zone, they scored two field goals and one touchdown.
Green Bay competes for postseason positions with every club in the NFC North, which appears to be football’s strongest division. Detroit and Minnesota both won at Lambeau Field, thus the Packers will have to face both teams on the road.
They also have to face division opponent Chicago twice. For the Packers to have a strong finish like last season, Love must stay healthy and reduce his blunders.
“It’s definitely disappointing,” Love stated. “I’m putting the ball in jeopardy way too many times, and that’s definitely something I have to clean up.”