Getty Jordan Love #10 of the Green Bay Packers drops back to pass against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter of an NFL preseason football game at Levi's Stadium on August 12, 2022 in Santa Clara, California.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love began his 2022 preseason with a three-interception performance in August 12’s opener against the San Francisco 49ers, but head coach Matt LaFleur seemed to absolve the former first-round pick for the interceptions following their 28-21 loss.
Love — the Packers’ 2020 first-round pick — went 13-of-24 passing with 176 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions against the 49ers, showing signs of growth during his two quarters of play but also turning the ball over on three consecutive drives. Overall, though, LaFleur said he was “pleased” with Love’s performance and felt the blame for the interceptions fell more so on the receivers than the quarterback.
“I think two of those you can totally take off him,” LaFleur said of the first two interceptions that bounced off receivers’ hands. “The third one, we had two busted routes because the ball really shouldn’t have gone there on that play, but he had nowhere else to go with the football, and he forced it in there and the defender made a good play. We’ve just got to clean up everything around him. We say it all the time about quarterbacks, they’re going to get too much credit when we do well and they’re going to get a lot of the blame when we don’t, and that’s just the reality of playing that position in this league. But I was pleased with Jordan’s performance.”
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LaFleur: ‘Pretty Good First Step’ for Love
While it is hard to spin a three-interception performance in the preseason as a great success, there were moments were Love looked like he had taken his game to the next level. The most memorable was the 33-yard dime pass he dropped into the hands of rookie wideout Romeo Doubs for a touchdown on the Packers’ second drive. Love also seemed to have a better pocket presence that allowed him to escape trouble a few times and to keep plays from crumbling when the defense stunted their original plans.
“I know he’s going to want a couple of the throws back and certainly some of the reads, but it’s never perfect for a quarterback,” LaFleur said. “But I thought, by in large, just watching the things like how the operation was. It was a smooth operation. I thought he got us in and out of the huddle extremely crisp and with urgency. I thought he made some off-schedule plays. He showed some nice athleticism on a couple of those runs as well, so there were a lot of good things out there from Jordan. Just the poise that he showed in the pocket, that’s something we were looking at it. Overall, just the process of everything, I thought it was a pretty good first step for him.”
Love will have his chance to take another step forward in less than a week when the New Orleans Saints visit Green Bay for the Packers’ second exhibition game. The Packers will also get to see him in action against the Saints during their joint practice sessions this week leading up to the game.