Green Bay Packers

Packers have shown they can win — if Jordan Love gets help he was promised

Updated Nov. 5, 2023 6:34 p.m. ET

First-year starting quarterback Jordan Love completed 20 of his 26 passing attempts for 228 yards and a touchdown in Green Bay's 20-3 drubbing of the Los Angeles Rams at Lambeau Field on Sunday. That was good for a 115.5 rating, his third game this season with a triple-digit rating and his first since Week 2.

It was the kind of bounce-back performance that had been overdue from Love, and he did a large part of it on his own — at least offensively. The Packers committed eight penalties as a team. The offense was responsible for five of them. The offensive penalties were also the most impactful. Two offsides penalties on the offense negated fourth-down conversions, as questionable as they may have been.

Then there were the two fumbles. Love completed a pass on first down to Dontayvion Wicks, who stretched out but fumbled in the process. It came after Keisean Nixon had set the Packers up with a 51-yard kickoff return to start the second half. Running back Aaron Jones also fumbled on first down trying to move the chains on a second-straight play later in the quarter. But no matter how many drops or how many fumbles, Love kept going back to his players and pushing the ball down the field.

According to ESPN, Love was six-of-eight (75%) passing on throws of 10 or more air yards on the day. He had entered the week completing a league-worst 36% on such throws.

Points were hard to come by, too. Green Bay went into the half with just a 7-3 lead. They scored 13 unanswered in the second half, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter as their offense began to figure things out. We finally saw a big-time connection between Love and Christian Watson as Watson won a 50/50 ball downfield for a 37-yard completion. It came at a cost, as Watson was injured on the play, but he held on and so did the Packer offense.

Fumble notwithstanding, Love also benefited from Aaron Jones finally being "turned loose" as head coach Matt LaFleur promised earlier in the week. The Packers went to Jones 20 times on the ground and gave him another six targets through the air. Jones finished with 99 all-purpose yards and scored a rushing touchdown. It was Jones' first rushing touchdown since Week 1 at Chicago.

"He's a dynamic player," said LaFleur of Jones. "Usually, good things happen when the ball is in his hands."

Green Bay had a total of 391 offensive yards by the end of the game. It seems like Love can make things happen if he's allowed to rely on the things he was supposed to be able to rely on.

The Green Bay defense, which has underperformed this season, made a statement following the trade of Rasul Douglas. They kept the Packers in the game for the full 60 minutes, getting pressure, creating turnovers and stopping the run. The Rams had just 68 yards on the ground and were just five of 14 on third down. Green Bay also tallied five tackles for loss and broke up 10 passes, even with the youth in the defensive backfield. Rookie Carrington Valentine led the team with three passes broken up. They recorded an interception and fumble recovery. A Brett Rypien-led Rams team scored just three points.

It turns out that if a young quarterback can rely on his defense to limit the amount of points on the board, give him extra possessions and the team can manage an effective run game to keep the pressure off the pass, the team can see success.

This is what the Packers were supposed to be this season. At home against the feisty Los Angeles Rams, they remembered that.

Carmen Vitali covers the NFC North for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stops with The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, including 2020, which added the title of Super Bowl Champion (and boat-parade participant) to her résumé. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV.