In his first NFL season as a starter, Jordan Love has gone through his share of highs and lows.
The highs are coming strong for Love and the Green Bay Packers right now — the latest big effort came in a 27-19 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.
Love led an offensive attack that was more than enough to top Patrick Mahomes and the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs.
It’s the fourth win in five games for Green Bay, and the win keeps the Packers (6-6) locked into the seventh (and final) NFC playoff spot with five games left in the regular season.
Love has played excellently during this winning stretch, and on Sunday, that included outperforming the reigning NFL MVP Mahomes.
It was a full-circle moment for Love, the former Utah State star, as his first NFL start two years ago came in a 13-7 loss to Kansas City on the road.
This time, he got Mahomes at home.
“I’ve had this game circled, been wanting to see these guys again after that, my first start. It feels good to get the dub.” — Jordan Love, on beating the Kansas City Chiefs
“I’ve had this game circled, been wanting to see these guys again after that, my first start. It feels good to get the dub,” Love told the NBC crew in a TV postgame interview.
Love completed 25 of 36 passes for 267 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, helping Green Bay build an early lead before weathering a Kansas City rally, then sealing the victory with three second-half scores, including one touchdown drive.
Mahomes, meanwhile, completed 21 of 33 passes for 210 yards, one touchdown and one interception, as the Chiefs never led during the Sunday primetime matchup.
The 27 points the Packers put on the board is the most scored against the Chiefs this season.
Love threw touchdown passes of 1 and 9 yards in the first and second quarters, respectively, to get the Packers out to a 14-3 lead.
Some of Love’s most impressive work came in the third quarter, when he led a seven-play, 67-yard touchdown drive to get the Packers a 21-12 lead.
Facing a fourth-and-1 from the Kansas City 44 and with the Packers clinging to a 14-12 lead, Love dropped into the pocket and launched a pass downfield with pressure in his face, and Romeo Doubs came down with the reception in tight coverage for a 33-yard gain to the Chiefs 11.
That set up the Packers’ next score.
Two plays later, Love connected with Christian Watson for a 12-yard touchdown to put Green Bay ahead 21-12. Love threw high on the pass, allowing Watson to high point the ball and bring it in for the touchdown.
It was the second touchdown of the night for Watson, who finished with a team-high seven receptions for 71 yards.
During the Packers’ recent win streak, Love has led Green Bay to victories over the Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams, in addition to Kansas City.
In the past five games, Love has completed 66% of his passes for 1,374 yards, 11 touchdowns and two interceptions.
That included one of his most efficient efforts of the season Sunday night.
“Offensively, we were just clicking today. Everybody around us was making plays — executing all the little details. We started fast, put up some points and the defense balled out,” Love told NBC.
