Before he played the biggest game of his brief NFL career on Sunday, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love got a message of encouragement from an old mentor.
Love and the Packers entered Week 18 needing just a win over the Chicago Bears to clinch a spot in the playoffs. It turns out that Love got a little extra encouragement before the game in the form of a text from Aaron Rodgers, he told Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
“It was just a little something,” Love told Breer.
So what was that little something? “Go beat the Bears,” the text read.
And that’s just what Love did. He was brilliant, completing 27 of 32 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns as the Packers won 17–9.
Love is in his first year as the Packers’ starter after Rodgers departed last offseason following a 15-year run as the main man in Green Bay. Succeeding a legend like Rodgers is a tall order, but Love has been up to the task. After a rocky 2–5 start, the Packers won seven of their final 10 games to qualify for the postseason, thanks in large part to Love’s improved play. He completed 57.7% of his passes with 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions in the first seven games of the season. In the final 10 games, though, his completion rate rose to 68.7% and he had 21 touchdowns to just three interceptions.
