Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love threw a point-eliminating interception to end the offense’s first drive on Sunday at Lambeau Field, but coach Matt LaFleur admired the way his quarterback bounced back, created big plays and used his legs to convert first downs during a 27-18 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Love finished the contest completing 19 of 26 passes for 259 yards, one touchdown and the aforementioned interception, which came on third down with the Packers in the red zone to open the game.
“Outside of that, I thought he played his (expletive) off,” LaFleur said post-game. “That was one of the better games he’s played for us, in terms of using his legs to convert critical third downs. That third down we had, we ran a roll pass that got gloved, his ability to maneuver through and find a way to pick up a first down. That third down conversion late in the game when they just sacked us and they’ve got all of the momentum, that was a big time play to hit MG (Matthew Golden) there. Quarterbacks, every play is under a microscope. Certainly we never want to give the ball up. But I thought he played his (expletive) off.”
Love completed 73.1 percent of his passes and finished with a passer rating of 101.3. He has now produced a completion percentage over 70.0 and a passer rating over 100.0 in four of five games this season, and his completion percentage and yards per attempt (10.0) on Sunday were both season highs.
“None of these guys in the league are perfect, but I think he’s playing at a pretty high level,” LaFleur said.
On Sunday, Love hit Matthew Golden for 20 yards to set up a field goal, hit Golden for 35 yards and Josh Jacobs for 29 yards to set up a touchdown, hit Tucker Kraft for a 19-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 24-10 and hit Golden again for 31 yards on a crucial 3rd-and-9 late in the fourth quarter. He also scrambled for a first down on 3rd-and-7 in the first quarter, converted 4th-and-1 with a quarterback sneak, and scrambled for a first down on 3rd-and-1 off a broken play just two plays before his touchdown pass to Kraft.
Last season, Love was limited by lower body injuries and wasn’t physically capable of using his legs to convert in big spots. Healthy again, Love’s mobility has added another element to the Packers offense. His seven rushes on Sunday were a season high. He’s also been consistently accurate and capable of creating explosive plays down the field. Four different players had a catch of at least 20 yards on Sunday.
The biggest play came late with the Packers clinging to a 6-point lead and the offense facing 3rd-and-9. Without a conversion, the Packers would have punted the ball back to Bengals. Instead, Love bought time to his left and fired downfield to Golden, who was running open from his right to left and caught the 31-yard pass in stride to convert the first down and put the Packers in scoring range. A few plays later, Lucas Havrisik kicked a field goal to push the lead to nine points.
Love was 1-for-3 with the interception on the first drive. From there? The Packers quarterback completed 18 of 23 passes for 238 yards and led five scoring drives as LaFleur’s team improved to 3-1-1.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: LaFleur: Packers QB Jordan Love ‘played his (expletive) off’ vs. Bengals
