National Football League

Jordan Love ascends into star status: 'Never seen anything like it,' Colin Cowherd says

Published Jan. 15, 2024 5:50 p.m. ET

If not for an incomplete pass late in the fourth quarter of Green Bay's 48-32 playoff victory at Dallas on Sunday, Packers quarterback Jordan Love would have finished with a perfect passer rating in his postseason debut.

Love was unflappable as Green Bay built a 27-0 lead, leading the Pack right down the field on its opening drive for a statement TD and ending his night with three TD throws. He threw for 272 yards and missed just five of his pass attempts (16-for-21), ending with a 157.2 passer rating.

It was easily the most shocking outcome of Super Wild Card Weekend thus far and marked a complete turnaround for Love from his mid-season struggles that caused many to question his reliability as a starter.

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Colin Cowherd called Love's ascension the biggest in-season shift for a QB he has ever seen.

"I have never seen in my life an in-season improvement of a quarterback ever like Jordan Love," Cowherd said Monday on "The Herd."

"From Week 8 at home against the Vikings, October 29th, can't play. Can't play. Coaching staff ripping him after the game. To, you know, he's better that Aaron Rodgers. I mean Matt LaFleur has done an unbelievable job. … 21 TDs, one pick in the last nine games. Completing over 71 percent of his throws. Athleticism, confidence, accuracy. That bye-week renovation is unbelievable.

"I've never seen anything like it. Now, this is what great offensive coaches often do with their young quarerbacks. Big leaps. But from that to this? I'm not exaggerating. He's cheaper than Aaron. He's more athletic than Aaron. He gets along with his young receivers better than Aaron. And let's just add this. He may throw it better. …

"Before the bye, he was completing a Tebow-level 55 percent of his throws, and a 77 passer rating. After the bye, he's like Favre in his prime: 68 completion percentage and a 106 passer rating. … This is what Green Bay does, and then you add in the drafting of these tight ends and corners. This is not just Dallas played poorly. That's not just what this is. Green Bay is a problem."

Jordan Love proves he is the real deal

FOX Sports analyst Greg Olsen agreed wholeheartedly.

"I can't give enough credit to Matt LaFleur," Olsen said. "The coaching job he did this year, not just offensively, but just taking this whole young group, weathering some bad storms. Just to make the playoffs felt like an accomplishment, let alone to do what they did yesterday.

"We had him Week 1 in Chicago," he reflected. "He looked like a legit dude in Week 1. Then we didn't see him again until Thanksgiving. Coming into Thanksgiving, there were some signs of improvement, starting to complete more passes downfield, starting to put this whole thing together with this young group of guys he had around him. We left that Thankgsiving Day game, we said ‘I don’t know … how far they're gonna make it, but that guy can flat out play.' … We went into yesterday's game as a crew saying, ‘This just feels like Thanksgiving all over again. The home team was the story of the league, here comes Green Bay, yeah, they're young, they're inexperienced. They're not ready for this moment, and then they win handily.' … The kid's a flat-out stud."

The questions surrounding whether Love could be the Packers quarterback of the future are now gone. What remain are those surrounding his ability to lead them to a deep playoff run. He'll have a chance to continue his impressive run next Saturday against San Francisco (8:15 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App).