What More Does Jordan Love Have To Do To Prove He’s Trustworthy?

After ESPN Milwaukee’s Steve “Homer” True claimed that Jordan Love isn’t a trustworthy quarterback, Green Bay Packers fans quickly turned his comment into a running joke. The phrase “can’t trust him” has since become a playful reference among the fanbase because Love’s performances have consistently proven that assessment to be far from reality.

Before Monday Night Football, Love ranked first among passers with at least 50 plays in EPA per play, fifth in total EPA, seventh in EPA per pass, sixth in success rate, ninth in completion percentage, and third in yards per attempt. He’s been producing at a top-10 level across nearly every advanced metric.

Love also ranks ninth in QBR, 10th in PFF grade, fourth in EPA per play, sixth in success rate, fifth in CPOE, eighth in passer rating, and seventh in adjusted net yards per attempt (ANY/A). If that résumé isn’t enough to label him as trustworthy, I don’t know what is.

Every now and then, Love is going to force a throw you wish he had just sailed out of bounds. But that’s part of who he is as a signal-caller — he’s going to take chances, even into double and triple coverage. Packers fans became so accustomed to Aaron Rodgers’ careful, calculated style that whenever Love attempts one of those aggressive throws, it feels like pandemonium.

One of those instances came in the first quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals. Facing third-and-five inside the red zone, the pocket collapsed, and Love rolled out to his right before forcing a throw to Romeo Doubs. A Bengals defender tipped the pass, which fell into Geno Stone’s hands for an interception. However, Love responded with a flawless performance the rest of the way, including a clutch third-down conversion late in the fourth quarter — this time using his legs.

After Week 6, Love led all quarterbacks in completions of 15-plus yards and conversion percentage. Moreover, he ranked second in both yards per attempt and PFF passing grade. You simply can’t do much better than that.

Yet it was interesting to see some of the play calls Matt LaFleur dialed up against the Arizona Cardinals. Early in the first quarter, Green Bay faced a third-and-four on Arizona’s side of the field. Instead of putting the ball in the hands of his $55 million quarterback, LaFleur called a behind-the-back handoff to the outside. It made little sense to go horizontal in that situation, especially with a passer who’s been excelling on decisive downs.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Packers faced a third-and-one. They called a pitch to Josh Jacobs and lined up in a quarterback sneak look, with Love under center — a formation Green Bay typically reserves for Tucker Kraft when running the sneak. The play resulted in a loss of one yard, setting up a fourth down. Entering Week 7, Arizona ranked 31st in EPA per play in the fourth quarter, meaning its defense tends to give up yards late in games. That made the conservative call even harder to justify.

The following sequence became a defining moment for Love. On fourth down, LaFleur initially sent out the field goal unit, which could have tied the game at 23-23 with less than three minutes remaining.

However, he called a timeout as the clock was winding down. After the 30-second break, LaFleur sent the offense back out to go for it, and Love delivered a clutch completion to Kraft inside Arizona’s 15-yard line. That conversion set up Jacobs’ game-winning score.

After the game, LaFleur explained that his confidence in Love was the driving factor behind the decision.

“Scared money don’t make money,” he said. “When our quarterback is coming off and I can see the disdain on his face…no matter what we call, this guy is going to make it work.”

While speaking to reporters after the showdown in the desert, Love noted that it was huge to have LaFleur’s trust to go for it in that situation.

“It’s a tough decision,” Love said. “I’m glad that Matt made the decision to go with offense. … We went out there and executed it.”

“It’s gonna suck if you don’t get it,” he added. Love then revealed that they had three plays designed for the situation, but he ultimately went with Kraft.

Good things came from LaFleur trusting his starting quarterback, and hopefully that experience will influence his play-calling approach going forward. As for Packers fans, any narrative suggesting that Love isn’t trustworthy is likely more about people not wanting him to succeed than an accurate assessment of his ability.

So far, Love has consistently frustrated those doubters.