GREEN BAY – The second half of the 2025 NFL season is officially underway and historically that's been a sign of good things to come for the Packers during the Jordan Love era.
Propelling Green Bay to back-to-back playoff appearances has been the stellar play of its starting quarterback, who's done some of his best work during the latter half of the year.
Love has combined for 330 of 488 (67.6%) passing for 3,893 yards, 30 touchdowns and two INTs for a 111.2 passer rating over the final eight games during his two-plus seasons as the Packers' starting QB.
Love was at it again this past Sunday against the New York Giants. Overcoming an injury to his non-throwing shoulder suffered late in the first quarter, Love led the Packers on a seven-play, 65-yard scoring drive to lift Green Bay to the 27-20 victory.
Love finished 13 of 24 passing for 174 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 105.2 passer rating. It was the 13th time Love registered at least a 100-passer rating in 17 starts during the final eight games of a season.
Asked Wednesday about his second-half production, Love said he gets a chuckle out of the numbers and the narrative that it's sprouted but also thinks it's a better indication of the Packers' growth as the season progresses.
"I think that's for everybody on our offense," Love said. "I think we start to get in a better groove, start to get in that rhythm of making plays. For me, it's understanding I've been through some games now throughout the season and understanding what I need to do in every situation and being smart with the ball and finding completions at all times, and then guys just making plays."
Moving forward, Love's shoulder appears no worse entering Sunday's NFC North matchup with Minnesota. He was a full participant in Wednesday's practice, telling reporters afterwards that the shoulder is "feeling good" and "we'll be good to go."
The injury occurred when Love took a hit from Giants linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles at the end of a 4-yard scramble with 2 minutes, 34 seconds left in the first quarter.
Officials sent Love to the sideline for observation, but he returned to the game in the second quarter. Backup Malik Willis played seven snaps in Love's place, capping Green Bay's first scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown to Christian Watson.
"Obviously being the left side it's something that you don't have to worry about," Love said. "If it was the right side, it'd be a different story throwing the ball wise. You've just got to try not to take as many hits and obviously be smart scrambling and getting outside the pocket, not taking any unnecessary shots."
Neither Love nor the offense has been perfect during the Packers' 6-3-1 start but statistically the 27-year-old quarterback is off to the best start of his NFL career.
Love ranks in the top 10 in passer rating (103.2), completion percentage (67.7%), yards per pass (7.81), interceptions (three), and 25-plus-yard completions (22).
He captured NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors last month after tying Brett Favre's franchise record with 20 straight completions in a 35-25 win over Pittsburgh in Week 8.
Love is leading with toughness, too. Watson said after Sunday's win he was expecting Willis to remain in the game on the Packers' next series before seeing Love reemerge from the visiting tunnel.
"It felt like he kind of just spawned on the field," said Watson, using gaming lingo to describe a player re-entering a game. "I was dapping Malik up to get ready for the drive, I turn around, and I see '10' out there. I couldn't tell he was hurt at all, to be honest."
The Packers are gonna need him. A massive three-game stretch of divisional games awaits Green Bay, beginning this Sunday against the Vikings (4-6). While Minnesota has lost three of its last four, it holds NFC North wins over Detroit and Chicago.
The Packers dropped both contests to the Vikings last season, each by two points. Those two defeats – and a 1-5 record within the division – contributed to Green Bay falling to the seventh seed in the NFC playoffs despite an 11-6 record.
A byproduct of their 40-40 tie with Dallas in Week 4, the Packers are currently a half game behind the Bears (7-3) for the division lead and a half game in front of the Lions (6-4).
As Green Bay ventures into the second half, Love understands the stakes for a Packers team looking to round into form once again.
"You look at the teams in our division, everybody's in it," Love said. "Everybody's kind of got similar records and we'll be playing everybody here at the back half, so definitely some games we're going to have to go out there and win. But the NFC North is wide open, and we've got to take advantage of these games to go out there and go win it."
