Amid Packers' reload, Jordan Love has outplayed 2022 Aaron Rodgers

Given how Jordan Love has looked the last six weeks, the last thing fans want to hear about is Aaron Rodgers. But the four-time MVP famously said his down seasons were career years for most other quarterbacks, and he’s right.

That matters because, just 11 starts into his first season as the Green Bay Packers’ full-time starter under center, Love has exceeded the expectations and outplayed Rodgers, at least the 2022 version. In doing so, Love has validated the Packers’ plan to stay competitive as they reset around a new franchise quarterback.

Because that’s exactly what Love looks like right now.

For whatever excuses the Rodgers supporters want to make about injuries, the plan for the Packers was to hold firm on the quarterback play or perhaps slightly improve it while upgrading some older, slower skill-position players with younger, more explosive ones. This is no doubt the fastest Packers offense of the last 10 years even if it’s also the most volatile. Operating without David Bakhtiari and Aaron Jones for most of the season, the concept of letting this team grow together (and fail together) has unequivocally worked.

By DVOA (efficiency adjusting for opponent), the Packers offense sits in the exact same spot as last season: 12th. However, the way they’ve gotten there couldn’t be more different. This season, the bulk of their efficiency comes from the passing game where Love and Co. stand eighth in the league while the run game sputters to a 23rd best mark. The loss of Jones stands out, but imagine what the offense could have been all season had he been healthy.