Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh ended with another loss for Green Bay, but unlike the losses that took place during the Packers’ four-game losing streak, progress was made from Jordan Love and the offense.
“I just see a guy that continues to grow and develop and learn and takes the coaching really well,” said Matt LaFleur about Love on Monday. “(He) takes accountability for when we aren’t playing at the level we’d like to play at. He’s a great example for all these guys.”
Love’s overall numbers aren’t going to leap off the stat sheet by any means. He completed 21-of-40 passes for 289 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and both picks arrived with the opportunity to take the lead late. Several dropped passes and the Packers being just 2-for-5 in contested catch situations didn’t help that stat line either.
However, from a process standpoint, he was much improved, and this loss did not mirror previous ones that the Packers have had.
Green Bay began their opening possession on offense already down seven points but put together a scoring drive to tie the game–a sign of growth for the offense, given how abysmal they’ve been in the first half. They also scored 13 first-half points, a far cry from their season average of 4.5.
The Packers finished the game 10-for-18 on third and fourth downs, with several of those conversions coming off of impressive throws from Love. PFF has a metric to measure quarterback effectiveness called big-time throws, which takes into account the placement of the throw, the situation, and the timing. Love’s five big-time throws against the Steelers were the second-most among any quarterback in Week 10.
“I thought he was playing with a lot of confidence,” added LaFleur. “I thought he was decisive. Made some big-time throws down the field. He kept fighting and battling. Gave us an opportunity right there at the end of the game and obviously came up short.”
Where Love has made the biggest strides recently is with his deep ball accuracy. Last week, LaFleur mentioned that on those deep throws, Love needed to “let it rip” and not try to aim those passes. On passes of 20-plus yards on Sunday, Love completed five of his eight passes for 168 yards and a touchdown. The week prior against Los Angeles, Love was 2-for-3 on such passes for 62 yards.
The ability to connect on downfield passes is an element that has been missing from the offense this season. It’s a tough way to live when you’re unable to generate explosive plays. It forces the offense to routinely put together 10-plus play drives to score, and without a deep threat, defenses are able to condense the field, making moving the ball through the run game, over the middle, or on short-area throws more difficult with less space to operate in.
In what was an otherwise sound performance for Love, the interceptions in the fourth quarter, specifically the first one to Christian Watson, provide a teaching moment. Could that pass have been placed a little bit better? Sure. But, according to LaFleur, given the coverage that Pittsburgh was in, the ball should have never gone to Watson. LaFleur mentioned there being a backside option that the ball should have gone to instead.
”You’re always coaching them on the decision-making,” said LaFleur. “It’s one thing to say ‘go let it rip,’ but you’re making a bad decision when you let it rip. You’re constantly coaching them on decision-making. The footwork, the timing of the play, trying to get his body in a great position to make throws, and he’s been great.
“Really receptive, and we expect that to continue, and I think that the better people play around him, the better he will perform as well.”
It’s a difficult balance to strike this season for the Packers and for their fans as well. Winning on Sunday is the ultimate goal and at 3-6, that isn’t happening often enough. With that said, in a season that is primarily about evaluation, specifically figuring out if Love can be the guy moving forward, progress was absolutely made in Pittsburgh, and that in itself is a big step in the right direction. Now, it’s about continuing to build upon that performance, making it the norm rather than the outlier.
“It’s always tough,” LaFleur said. “When you’re focused on your process, you’re focusing on improvement, getting better each and every day. Just maximizing your opportunities. I think our guys are getting better. Now we have to capitalize on opportunities, and that’s not just offensively, but in all three phases.”
