GREEN BAY, Wis. — In their first meeting against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4, the Packers trailed 31-22 with about six minutes left in the game. On first-and-10 from the Vikings’ 34-yard line, quarterback Jordan Love dropped back and faced safety Harrison Smith bulldozing downhill, unblocked off the edge.
With Smith in his grill after the Vikings sent six rushers, Love launched the ball about 45 yards downfield off his back foot into the end zone for wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks. Cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. easily picked it off, as Wicks couldn’t adjust to the off-target prayer in time to break it up.
Not only was Love’s decision a bone-headed one because it was first down, but the play served as a microcosm for the quarterback’s struggles against the blitz during the first half of the season.
From Weeks 1 to 9, Love’s passer rating against the blitz (54.7) ranked 33rd in the NFL among qualifying quarterbacks, according to TruMedia. Since Week 11, when Love logged three consecutive practices as a full participant after the bye week helped heal a groin injury suffered in Week 8, Love ranks first in the NFL in passer rating against the blitz (147.3).
Before the bye week against the blitz, Love also ranked 36th in EPA per dropback, 35th in EPA per pass attempt and 33rd in completion percentage while throwing four touchdowns and five interceptions against at least five rushers. In the six games after the bye week, he’s thrown six touchdowns and no interceptions in those situations and ranks third in EPA per dropback, sixth in EPA per pass attempt and first in completion percentage.
Continuing his composure in the face of blitzes will be paramount on Sunday against the Vikings, who rank first in the league with a blitz rate of 40.5 percent.
But why has Love gone from one of the league’s worst to the best when facing five or more pass rushers?
“I think some of that may have been his health … and just his confidence,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said Thursday, referring primarily to Love’s sprained MCL suffered in Week 1 that he returned from against the Vikings in Week 4 at less than 100 percent.
“As of late, I think he’s done a really good job making decisions,” Stenavich continued. “He’s done a really good job creating time in the pocket, getting out of trouble and finding some plays down the field.”
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Why Jordan Love’s recent success against blitzes will be pivotal against Vikings
