Jordan Love showed off clutch gene that should have Packers fans excited

Jordan Love‘s first game as the starting quarterback of the Green Bay Packers couldn’t have gone better. Talk about clean-up duty, that’s about as good as a debut can get against a rival.

Not only did it appear that life without Aaron Rodgers would be positive for the Packers, but it seemed as if the four-time MVP transferred “ownership” of the rival Chicago Bears over to his protégé.

It was a 38-20 win for Green Bay that really wasn’t all that close. The Packers were up 38-14 early in the fourth quarter and things were so locked up that they eventually “benched” Love in favor of his backup, Sean Clifford. Love completed 15-of-27 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers.

That type of start for the young quarterback was impressive enough, but dig into the numbers and you’ll see that Packers fans have even more reason to be excited about Love.

He was cool, calm, and collected. If the moment was big for him, he didn’t show it. He stood tall in the pocket all afternoon and even though he missed a few throws, he also threw a few darts.

What Jordan Love did to the Bears on third (and fourth) down had to be demoralizing. He was 8-10, 141 yards, 2 TD, a perfect 158.3 passer rating.

There was 8-yard TD to Romeo Doubs on 3-goal. Thirty yards to Jayden Reed on 3-10. A 35-yard TD to Aaron Jones on 4-3. In a debut.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) September 11, 2023

He was also clutch. Notably, Love was 8-of-10 on third and fourth downs for 141 yards and two touchdowns. He had a perfect passer rating of 158.3 in those all-important moments, and yes it’s way too early in the season to jump to any conclusions, but he seemed to be the type of quarterback who could get things done when it matters most.

The same could be said of quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, and yes, Aaron Rodgers.

That’s not to say Love will eventually be on the superstar plane those players live on, but it sure had to have been a welcome sight for Packers fans. Love aced his first test.