Jordan Love stats vs. Aaron Rodgers: How Packers QB outperformed franchise legend in Year 1 as starter

Kyle Irving

Jordan Love stats vs. Aaron Rodgers: How Packers QB outperformed franchise legend in Year 1 as starter image

It quickly became clear that the succession plan from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers was going to work out pretty well for the Packers. If Jordan Love's first season as the full-time starter is any indication, Green Bay has done it again.

No one anticipated the Packers to be a playoff team in the 25-year-old's first tour of duty, especially after Rodgers failed to get a similar roster to the postseason last year. Green Bay was only projected to win seven games in 2023, with their preseason over/under set at 7.5. Yet, Love turned a corner to play his best football in the second half of the season, improving Green Bay's record by one game (9-8) to reach the playoffs as a first-year starter.

Not even Rodgers could do that in his first full season under center -- and he took over a 13-3 playoff team from Favre the year prior.

MORE: Sporting News' NFL experts make their playoff, Super Bowl 58 picks

How did Love's stats from his debut campaign compare to his predecessor Rodgers? The Sporting News takes a closer look below.

Jordan Love stats vs. Aaron Rodgers

Love has proven to be calm, cool, and collected under pressure, capable of making effortlessly challenging throws with a rocket arm and stable footwork in the pocket. The first-year starter didn't have any superstar weapons to work with; yet, he made the most of a young wide receiver corps.

Love ended up tossing 32 touchdown passes to 10 different receivers. Second-year WR Romeo Doubs and rookie WR Jayden Reed each finished with eight touchdowns, which was tied for eighth-most in the NFL. That's more than Pro Bowl receivers A.J. Brown (7), Ja'Marr Chase (7), and Puka Nacua (6), among others.

After Love had a breakout Thanksgiving game with 268 passing yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions in a road win over the division-leading Lions, I wrote about how his stats compared to Rodgers' debut season.

He was on pace to mimic Rodgers' immediate success at the time, but Love only got better as the season went on.

Over the final eight weeks, Love threw for 2,150 yards, 18 TDs, and just one INT while completing 70.25 percent of his passes. Green Bay went 6-2 over that span, winning its final three games to sneak into the playoffs as the final NFC wild-card team.

Because of his second-half surge, Love ended up exceeding all of Rodgers' stats in their debut seasons.

Jordan Love's debut season   Aaron Rodgers' debut season
9-8 Record 6-10
4,159 Pass Yds. 4,038
579 Pass Att. 536
64.2 Comp. % 63.6
32 TD 28
11 INT 13

Yes, Love had the advantage of an extra game, but their per-game stats were comparable, too. Rodgers' 252.4 passing yards per game narrowly edged Love's 244.6, but Love threw more passing touchdowns per game (1.88) than Rodgers (1.75). He also finished with a better touchdown-to-interception ratio (2.91) than Rodgers (2.15).

Love racked up nine games with multiple touchdown passes and zero interceptions — something Rodgers only did three times during his first season as a starter.

Most important, Love carried the Packers to the postseason while Rodgers did not.

MORE: NFL playoff QB power rankings: How does Love stack up against the field?

This isn't to say that Love is the second coming of the future Hall of Famer, but the 25-year-old exceeded all expectations and established himself as the clear franchise quarterback moving forward.

Love has the ultimate test ahead of him in his first playoff game on Sunday -- trying to dethrone a Cowboys team that finished tied for the second-best record in the NFL.

Regardless of how his NFL playoff debut plays out, Packers fans can watch comfortably knowing the present and future of the organization is in good hands.

Kyle Irving

Kyle Irving Photo

You read that wrong – not Kyrie Irving. From Boston, graduated from the University of New Hampshire. Sixth season as a content producer for NBA.com's Global editions. Covering the NBA Draft has become his annual "dream come true" moment on the job. Irving has a soft spot for pass-first point guards, with Rajon Rondo and Steve Nash being two of his favorite players of all time.