The apprentice surpasses the master as Jordan Love outplays Aaron Rodgers to propel the Packers past the Steelers
Jordan Love upstaged Aaron Rodgers, then paid tribute to the man he replaced at quarterback for the Green Bay Packers.
Love was Rodgers’ backup for several years, but got his opportunity when the veteran left Green Bay in 2023 for the New York Jets before moving to Pittsburgh earlier this season.
And he proved he’d heeded a lot of Rodgers’ advice with a fantastic display in which he threw 20 straight passes for 360 passing yards and three touchdowns.
“Obviously being behind A-Rod for three years, being able to see him and the high-level play that he was able to go out there and make and being able to put the ball on the money at any time was very cool for me to be able to see,” Love said.
He played fantastic – Rodgers impressed with Love’s performance
Rodgers and Love shared a brief moment after the match and the master was impressed by the apprentice’s performance.
“He played great, he played fantastic,” Rodgers said. “He had a great season. He was very effective with the football. He’s an opportunist, although I felt like he was very patient tonight. He took the running solutions, he took the checks, he moved well in the pocket. I thought he played very well.”
Love’s efforts lifted the Packers to a 35-25 victory and improve to 5-1-1 for the season.
Newly acquired Packers defensive end Micah Parsons said, “He showed he’s the successor.
“He’s promising. Like J-Love, talking about when I was coming here, I was like, ‘I know they have a quarterback, I know I have a quarterback.’ I’m so proud of him, everything he’s been through, how he’s developed as a player, how he’s developed as a person, and he’s playing really good football right now.
It’s cool – LaFleur happy with patient Love
Added Packers coach Matt LaFleur: “It’s great for Jordan. Jordan worked his butt off to get here. He was patient throughout the whole process, throughout the journey, and he took advantage of the opportunity, he really did. It was cool.”
On a near-perfect night for Green Bay, they were also able to welcome back wide receiver Christian Watson, who returned after tearing an ACL in the final regular-season game last season and had four catches for 85 yards.
