Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love was solid during Day 1 of joint practices on Wednesday when he hit Christian Watson for a long touchdown pass and led an impressive two-minute drive.
If Wednesday was a diamond, Thursday was a rock for Love and the young Packers offense — and the two days overall could be a harbinger of what’s to come in Green Bay in 2023.
On Thursday, Love threw an interception during both a red zone period and the two-minute drill, highlighting a day of struggles for the joint practice hosts.
Per Bill Huber of SI.com, Love finished 14-of-31 passing during the practice, and eight of his passes were broken up by Patriots defenders.
In the red zone, Love tried to force a ball to Luke Musgrave and was intercepted by Kyle Duggar. On the first play of the No. 1 offense’s two-minute drill, Love attempted to squeeze in a pass against a Cover-2 shell and was intercepted by Marcus Jones.
Overall, Love was 2-for-6 producing touchdowns in the red zone. And his second chance at the two-minute drill resulted in a turnover on downs when Musgrave dropped a potential game-tying touchdown pass on fourth down.
Per Paul Bretl of Packers Wire, receiver Samori Toure said the Patriots were more “locked in” on defense during Thursday’s practice, complicating the task for the young Packers passing game. Passing lanes were clogged, and Love had issues finding places to go with the ball.
The inconsistency should hardly be surprising for a team with a first-year starting quarterback, two starting second-year receivers, one other second-year receiver, one rookie receiver and two rookie tight ends playing key roles in the passing game. The Packers were outstanding at times on offense on Wednesday, but Bill Belichick’s veteran team rebounded in a big way on Thursday, creating a rollercoaster ride that could be emblematic of this year’s Packers team. This group is going to learn with every up and every down, and there figures to be plenty of both during the growing process.
It’s unclear how much Love and the starters on offense will play Saturday night against the Patriots, but more reps together couldn’t hurt, even if the coverages and schemes employed during the preseason game won’t perfectly resemble what Love and the Packers saw during one good day and one poor day of joint practices.
