The Green Bay Packers of 2023 were not expected to be good. They weren’t intended to compete. Many of the narratives surrounding the squad prior to the season predicted that they would decline. The season was going to be a shambles. There was no way they could improve on 2022, thus heads were going to roll.
That, however, was not the case. While 9-8 may not appear to be much of an improvement, the 2023 team is headed to the NFL Playoffs. There are numerous explanations for this turnaround, but the quarterback position stands out as the most significant.
Aaron Rodgers is without a doubt one of the greatest players in NFL history, let alone one of the greatest to wear the Green and Gold for the Packers. However, Rodgers’ 2022 season was far from his greatest, both on and off the field.
Indeed, Rodgers was to blame for many of the Packers’ woes in 2022, whether entirely or partially. And his successor, Jordan Love, is now entirely or largely accountable for making amends.
Jordan Love’s contract extension did not financially burden the Green Bay Packers in the same way that Aaron Rodgers’ did.
What went wrong with the Packers in 2022? Oh my goodness! But first, let’s go back to the beginning: the offseason. Despite speculations that Rodgers intended to leave Green Bay, the two parties agreed to a three-year, $150 million contract.
This pact accomplished two things, neither of which were good. The first was that it made Love rethink his position within the company. Rodgers’ contract with the Packers was extended into his third season. Even if the Packers exercised his fifth-year option, he would trail the four-time NFL MVP. It was a terrible situation for him at the moment.
The second is that it hampered the group financially. An older and dissatisfied quarterback who still wanted the Packers to go out and get the free agents he wanted was now tying up valuable and limited salary cap money that could have been used to add to a club that finished 13-4 in 2021.
His contract, however, made that impossible, prompting the Packers to hunt for talent in the NFL Draft.
Which brings us to…
Jordan Love worked with the Green Bay Packers’ young players during the offseason; Aaron Rodgers did not show up until training camp.
To be clear, there are several anecdotes from Rodgers’ previous teammates that praise him for being an excellent teammate. Rodgers, according to Love, took him under his wing and helped him mature. Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs, last year’s rookie wide receivers, said they gained a lot from playing with Rodgers.
Having said that, Rodgers, who is now with the Jets, admits he regrets how he tackled dealing with the Packers’ young guys last year. That is, he didn’t spend any time with them prior to training camp. Instead, he arrived at camp expecting everyone to be on the same page as him.
Love learned mechanics and offense reading from Rodgers, but he also learned from his failures. The 2022 Packers offense lacked synergy, as a result of not working together until only a few weeks before the season. When Love was appointed the starting quarterback in 2023, he organized drills at his home in California and invited all of the young Packers players to attend.
The Packers, a youthful squad, committed a lot of blunders early in the season. It took them a bit to get their feet, but the offense began to look decent in November. That is a testament to the early foundation Love laid with his young pass catchers.
2023 Jordan Love is a superior quarterback to 2022. Aaron Rodgers is a quarterback.
Rodgers played part of 2022 with a broken thumb, as is well documented. However, that injury should have only slowed his production for four weeks. Furthermore, if he kept playing with it, it couldn’t have been that serious of a problem.
Having said that, Love was a lot better quarterback in his first year beginning than Rodgers in 2022. This is not to imply he is the better player overall. It’s far too early to even consider that subject. Looking at the data, however, it is clear who the better quarterback is/was:
In Week 18, the 2023 Green Bay Packers won their “win-and-in” game.
Despite their problems, the 2022 Packers entered Week 18 with an 8-8 record and a chance to make the playoffs. They only needed to beat the Detroit Lions at home. Of course, this did not occur.
Rodgers’ final pass as a Packer was the game-winning interception in a 20-16 loss. Green Bay finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs for the first time in head coach Matt LaFleur’s tenure. Rodgers finished the game 17-27 for 205 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
In the 2023 season, Green Bay is once again 8-8 and needs a win at home against a divisional opponent in Week 18 to make the playoffs. This time, the Packers upset the Chicago Bears 17-9, thanks to Love’s best performance of the season. He completed 27 of his 32 throws for 316 yards and two touchdowns.
Conclusion
The truth is that, like Rodgers’ conspiracy theory rhetoric on The Pat McAfee Show, this list could continue on and on. It would be so easy to focus on Love’s ten games with a passer rating of 100 or higher against Rodgers’ three in 2022. People may argue for hours about how Rodgers’ interviews portrayed the Packers’ organization negatively, whereas Love has been nothing but a positive representative of the team.
The truth is that Green Bay needs to move on from Rodgers. His final season was not what he should have been remembered for, but it did leave many questions about the team unanswered.
Love, on the other hand, responded. He learned from Rodgers’ errors. Most significantly, he demonstrated that he is the franchise’s future by leading them to the playoffs in his first year as the starter.
Green Bay’s future seems promising.
