Jordan Love Breaks Silence on ‘Mortal Sin’ That Cost Packers Win Over 49ers

Getty Quarterback Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers.

The Green Bay Packers let a golden opportunity slip through their collective fingers in the Bay Area on Saturday, January 20 and there is plenty of blame to go around.

Rookie kicker Anders Carlson and his errant 41-yard field goal attempt with just over six minutes remaining, which would have put the Packers up seven points, was among the pivot points in the game that ultimately cost Green Bay a trip to the NFC Championship Game.

The decision by head coach Matt LaFleur and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia to ride with Carlson despite his inconsistencies also had a direct impact on the outcome of the game.

But it was quarterback Jordan Love’s interception, thrown into the arms of San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw with 52 seconds remaining in the Divisional Round contest, that ended the Packers’ playoff run for good. Love spoke about his critical mistake, which was also his second interception of the evening, during his postgame press conference.

“Looking back on it, yeah, throw it away,” Love said. “I don’t know if I had an opportunity to be able to run, maybe get out of bounds. But force it across the middle late, which is a mortal sin, and it cost us. So it’s something I’ll look at, but that’s an area right there where I’ll be able to look at, grow from and get better in the future.”

Jordan Love Struggled Against 49ers Compared to Recent Performances

GettyQuarterback Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers.

Love finished the game 21-of-34 passing for 194 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs, which was a far cry from the type of performances from the first-year starter to which Packers fans had grown accustomed over the last several weeks of play.

Love hadn’t thrown an interception since Week 14 against the New York Giants back on December 11. That was the only pick Love threw over a nine-game stretch, which included a three-game win streak to help the Packers get to 9-8 on the year and earn the final playoff spot in the NFC.

That was followed by a fourth consecutive victory on Super Wild Card Weekend, when Green Bay obliterated the Dallas Cowboys by a score of 48-32 in AT&T Stadium. Love threw for 272 yards and 3 TDs in that contest, earning a near-perfect passer rating of 157.2.

Love finished the season completing 64.2% of his passes for 4,159 yards, 32 TDs and 11 INTs. At only 25 years old, Love’s future in Green Bay is bright, despite ending with a critical mistake.

Matt LaFleur Says Entire Team to Blame for Packers’ Loss to 49ers

GettyGreen Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.

LaFleur also spoke after the game and addressed the follies of both his quarterback and his kicker, but didn’t chalk up the loss to either one.

“I felt like we had plenty of opportunities to kind of put the game out of reach and unfortunately just didn’t do enough,” LaFleur said. “And it’s never one play, because I’m sure a lot of it’s going to come down to the missed field goal, but there were plenty of opportunities. You can go back in the first half and [look at] three red zone opportunities [that resulted in] six points.”

Despite the loss, Green Bay acquitted itself admirably and appears poised to be a threat in the NFC North division, as well as the conference in its entirety, for several seasons to come. But that does little to numb the immediate pain of an opportunity lost to play either the Detroit Lions or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game.