Whether or not you believe the Jordan Love Toyotathon theory, his head coach certainly thinks the Green Bay Packers quarterback is playing his best down the stretch once again.
"This is the best ball he's played," Matt LaFleur said Thursday, via ESPN. "Just when I look at all the little things ... in terms of his ability to manipulate the pocket when he's under duress, getting the ball to his checkdowns, or whatever it may be, I think he's playing at a really high level."
For the uninitiated, the JLove-Toyotathan concept states that during the automotive company's yearly sale, the Packers quarterback shines. Outside of it, not as much.
Last year's hot stretch, coupled with his play the past several weeks adds intrigue to the notion.
Love has had a 100-plus passer rating in each of his last five games (Weeks 11-15) -- only Aaron Rodgers has had a longer streak by a Packers QB since 1950. Love only had one game with a 100-plus passer rating from Weeks 1-10 (Week 6).
It helps that Love is fully recovered from his early-season knee injury. It's also notable that he's stopped turning the ball over. Love has not thrown an interception in any of his last four starts. Prior to that stretch, the QB had tossed a pick in each of his first eight starts of 2024.
"I think a lot of it is just decision-making, just being smarter when I have the ball in my hands, understanding that ... we win a lot of games when we take care of the ball," Love said. "So I think the defense is doing a great job of generating those turnovers, but it all starts on offense, just being able to play a clean game and take care of the ball. But it's definitely been a focus, just making smarter decisions with it."
In two seasons as the full-time starter, Love has a 31-4 pass TD-INT ratio and a 114.1 passer rating in career starts in Week 11 or later, including playoffs (30-21 pass TD-INT ratio and 83.1 passer rating in Weeks 1-10).
It behooves the Packers that the quarterback is again playing his best down the stretch. With a win in Week 16, the Packers will clinch a playoff bid (can also clinch prior to kickoff with losses by Falcons and Rams or Seahawks).
