Jordan Love's return to the lineup included a trove of touchdowns, a pileup of interceptions and a comeback bid that fell short.
After getting down 28-0 in the first half to rival Minnesota, the Packers fell shy with a 31-29 loss at Lambeau Field on Sunday. Love returned after missing two games due to an MCL sprain. Following the defeat, the quarterback said he's still dealing with issues stemming from the knee injury.
"I hope it'll continue to heal and get better, but at this moment, yeah, it's definitely something that's there," Love said, via ESPN. "And it's one of those things, it's football. We play a physical sport and there's injuries, and you gotta fight through some stuff."
Love's accuracy ebbed and flowed throughout the contest. He missed a few passes in the dirt that he usually hits. In the first half, he completed just nine of 12 passes under 10 air yards for 59 yards (4.9 YPA). He was more effective on such passes in the second half, completing 14 of 16 for 117 yards and two touchdowns (7.3 YPA), per Next Gen Stats. He completed eight of 23 passes on throws of more than 10 yards in the air -- three interceptions coming on such throws.
Love threw a career-high 51 passes, completing 32 for a career-best 389 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions.
The tenor of the game didn't allow for Matt LaFleur's offense to get into a rhythm. The Packers started their first four drives: missed field goal, interception, missed FG, interception. After all that, it was 28-0 Minnesota, and the scramble was on for Green Bay.
"I don't think we envisioned throwing the ball 50 times; that's never the plan going into any game," LaFleur said. "Usually, if you're in a game like that, it's probably not going your way."
Love certainly settled into the game, stretching the field as the Vikings sat back, protecting the lead, but a fourth-quarter heave interception and a Tucker Kraft fumble hindered the comeback effort.
"It seemed to me that he looked more and more comfortable," LaFleur said of Love. "We made more explosive plays, which is tough to do when a team is sitting back in 2-shell. But I think there is a lot of good lessons that come out of every game."
Given the look of the Week 1 injury, it's a boon that Love missed just two games. Sunday's return started about as poorly as it could for the entire Packers club, from missed passes to missed field goals to missed tackles to missed coverage assignments to penalties. Given that context, that they made a game of it as Love knocked to rust out is a positive sign for the Pack moving forward.
Green Bay has made the playoffs in each of their previous five seasons, starting 2-2, including 2023 when they fell to 2-5 and finished 9-8 before losing in the Divisional Round in San Francisco.
