Dan Campbell had a mysterious look, the perfect poker face to leave us guessing on what he was going to do before a fourth-and-inches play with the game on the line for the Detroit Lions against the Green Bay Packers.
Of course, the Lions’ coach went for it because that’s what he’s done since arriving in Detroit in 2021. But there was some mystery because the Lions got burned earlier in the game after giving Jordan Love a short field to turn Thursday night’s NFC North showdown into a back-and-forth affair.
Love’s résumé must have raced through Campbell’s mind when the TV cameras locked in on his intense, red-colored face before the critical fourth-down decision with less than a minute left in regulation. Campbell wanted no part of Love because of what he did last season and in spurts Thursday night. But fearing Love benefited the Lions in their 34–31 victory over the Packers with Jake Bates connecting on a 35-year field goal as time expired.
The 2023 version of Love got him paid in the offseason with a massive four-year, $220 million contract extension and earned him a reputation as a quarterback you don’t want to give the ball to on the final drive of a one-score game. But last year’s Love hasn’t been around much this season, which could explain why the Packers (9–4) are now longshots to win the NFC North and are a combined 0–4 against the Lions (12–1), Philadelphia Eagles (10–2) and Minnesota Vikings (10–2) this season.
The Packers can’t just have teams fear Love’s second-half surge from 2023. They need him to play like it to have a chance in the NFC postseason, because this year’s version of Love has the Packers a distant fourth when it comes to the NFC’s power rankings.
The Packers had the right idea of making Love’s life easier in various ways. They spent money to sign bruising running back Josh Jacobs this offseason after years of using many draft picks on pass catchers. Even the outside-the-box hiring of defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has benefited Love in his second year as the starter.
Love’s job got so cushiony that even his many so-so performances this season were enough to make the Packers a very good team and a virtual lock for a postseason berth. But the Packers needed the 2023 version of Love in Thursday night’s showdown against the Lions. Green Bay fell behind 10–0 because of a run-first offense with Love going 3-of-7 for 31 yards in the first half. Making Love’s job easier is enough against lower-level contenders such as the Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans.
The money-making Love, the one who earned his massive paycheck last year, showed up in spurts in the second half against the Lions, but it was too late. There’s plenty to think about for Packers coach Matt LaFleur after Jared Goff executed a game-winning drive to give the Lions a victory and keep Love on the sideline.
It’s time for LaFleur to let his star quarterback earn his paycheck because this conservative approach won’t get the Packers far when the playoffs arrive. Perhaps this is LaFleur’s way of getting Love to trust the scheme and play with more composure and not just rely on his elite skill set. But maybe LaFleur needs to accept Love for who he is, because he’s at his best when he’s pushing the ball downfield to his many weapons. Love should be setting up the running game, not the other way around.
Also, this retooled Packers’ offense in 2024 hasn’t cut down Love’s turnovers—he has 11 interceptions this season, but none on Thursday night, even when the offense picked up in the final two quarters. Love finished 12-of-20 for 206 yards and one touchdown. Only 20 attempts should be considered unacceptable for a quarterback as talented as Love. Goff went 32-of-41 for 283 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
Somehow, the Lions have allowed only 13.8 points per game since Week 8, but they needed to get pushed with 13 defenders currently on injured reserve. Eventually, the Packers tested the Lions’ lack of depth when Love took a shot downfield on the second play of the second half—a 59-yard connection to Christian Watson, who made up for a costly fumble in the opening quarter. From there, the Packers scored two touchdowns in a span of six plays to take a 21–17 advantage. (The Green Bay offense received help after Keisean Nixon picked off Goff.)
Love also had an impressive drive to help the Packers tie the game 31–31, throwing dimes of more than 20 yards to Watson and Dontayvion Wicks.
Where’s the Love that was red hot heading into the 2023 postseason and picked apart the Dallas Cowboys in the wild-card round before pushing the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round? Maybe LaFleur didn’t like the way 2023 ended with Love throwing an interception against the 49ers, leading to an offseason focusing on the defense and running game.
But Campbell partly went for it on fourth down Thursday night because he didn’t want to mess around and find out whether the 2023 version of Love was going to show up in the final seconds of regulation. The Packers need to find ways to get that version of Love back or they might continue getting the same results against the real contenders in the NFC.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Packers Need Jordan Love to Return to His Old Self to Compete in the NFC.
