The Green Bay Packers entered Week 12 with their playoff lives teetering. They had a 20% chance of qualifying for the postseason, and would have dropped all the way down to 12% had they lost to the Lions. But Jordan Love and company were able to overcome an 8.5-point spread, the second-largest in Thanksgiving Day history, in order to defeat Detroit and stay breathing in the NFC. Love had his most impressive game since early in the season, and he joins some Packers’ royalty when it comes to playing on Turkey Day.
Jordan Love Has Excellent Thanksgiving Debut
Jordan Love’s stats on his first Thanksgiving start has him not too far behind Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers 💪 pic.twitter.com/3IoFnm50Sv
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 23, 2023
Love started off the season hot. He threw 6 touchdowns and 0 interceptions over the first two weeks, and Green Bay was 1-1. Since then, Love has had a sharp increase in his turnovers, with 10 picks to go along with his 10 touchdowns since Week 3. But he bounced back in front of a nation audience in a game his team desperately needed, completing 22 of his 32 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns. Love was interception-less on the day.
The performance was on par or better than the Thanksgiving debuts of the all-time great Packers quarterbacks that have before him. In 1994, Brett Favre threw for 257 yards and 4 touchdowns in a loss to the Cowboys. In 2009, Aaron Rodgers totaled 348 yards and 3 scores in a win over the Lions. Neither player threw an interception in either game.
While the personal accomplishment is nice for Jordan Love, the victory that his team picked up was massive. They are still on the outside looking in when it comes to the NFC playoff picture, but their odds of qualifying have boosted all the way up to 38% with the result.
Tough Game vs Chiefs Will Have Massive Impact On Postseason Odds
This ball placement by Jordan Love is 🤯
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/WaDRz6SrhF
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) November 23, 2023
It may not last long, though. The next game on the schedule for Love and the Packers is against the Kansas City Chiefs, which will be a Sunday Night Football matchup in Week 13. They will likely be home underdogs of somewhere between 6–8 points, and have a tall task in front of them if they want to slow down Patrick Mahomes and company.
But if they are able to, the Packers will pull their record to an even 6-6. Much of the potential success of the team down the stretch depends on Jordan Love and his weekly performances, and he is hoping that his Thanksgiving Day debut performance can be a spring board for the rest of the season.
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