The Green Bay Packers flipped the script in Week 3 compared to their performance in Week 2. In their second game of the season, Green Bay blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead, resulting in a disappointing 25-24 loss.
This time around, the Packers were trailing 17-0 against the New Orleans Saints heading into the fourth quarter. They put together a ferocious comeback as Jordan Love led the offense on three scoring drives after being shut out for three quarters, resulting in a thrilling 18-17 victory.
It was the kind of resilient performance that separates your run-of-the-mill quarterbacks from the special ones. After finding no success for three quarters, some teams would have packed it in, but not the Packers. Instead, they rallied around their young starting quarterback and were able to pull off an improbable victory to move to 2-1 on the season.
It was a truly impressive feat as the Packers were without several key contributors offensively. Wide receiver Christian Watson has yet to be in the lineup this season because of a hamstring injury. Running back Aaron Jones and left tackle David Bakhtiari missed their second consecutive games because of a hamstring and knee ailment.
Left guard Elgtton Jenkins also missed the game against the Saints because of an MCL injury suffered in Week 2 against the Falcons. He was quite impressed with how Love carried himself, heaping praise on the Packers’ starter following the game.
”Just him and the resiliency just to come out there down 17 into the fourth,” said Elgton Jenkins, “the ultimate downs, he don’t blink. He just goes out there and do what he do. Offense rallies around him, defense does what they do. It was a special, special performance, now. We always knew that he had it, things like that. But just him being able to go out there and just put it together live for everybody in his first game at Lambeau, it’s just special. Just special.”
It was a historic performance as the 17-point fourth-quarter comeback is the largest in Packers franchise history. Love is proving that he has what it takes to become a successful player in the NFL, overcoming some challenges and still leading the team to victory.
They will be facing another stiff test in Week 4 as the Packers will be hosting the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football. This is a big game for Love and the offense as they have to keep pace with the explosive Lions offense. The winner of the game will also hold sole possession of first place in the NFC North with a game in hand over the other for tiebreaker purposes.
