This couldn't have been easy for Jordan Love.
He just made it look that way.
With his predecessor and mentor Aaron Rodgers the opposing quarterback Sunday night in Pittsburgh, Love was absolutely lights out in the Packers' 35-25 victory at Acrisure Stadium.
A franchise record-tying 20 straight completions highlighted his 360-yard, three-TD, 134.2-rating performance. There's practically no way he could've played better.
How did he do it in such a pressure-packed game? By being the calm and collected Jordan Love he's always been.
He found the right balance between understanding everything that was surrounding this game but not getting distracted by it. The hype was impossible to ignore, so he didn't. But he kept his focus on Pittsburgh's defense and not its quarterback.
"There's that added level of pressure," Love admitted after his tour de force. "You know, obviously us going up against each other.
"I knew coming into the week what was entailed in this week."
After a matchup he called "very fun," Love said he gave quick well-wishes to Rodgers, for whom he's "got a lot of love."
He denied he was trying to channel anything Rodgers-like as he started carving up the Steelers' defense – "Nah man, I'm just trying to play my game," he said – but there's no denying it looked that way as he beat blitz after blitz in the second half with big plays, mostly to tight end Tucker Kraft and receiver Christian Watson.
Little did he know when a frustrating first half ended with four straight completions on a fruitless possession in the last 34 seconds that he was starting his amazing streak.
There was at least some luck involved on the wobbly throw that Kraft caught and ran with for 59 yards to convert a big third down early in the third quarter, but there was nothing fluky about the rest of it.
"Man, I was just playing," Love said. "I think you get in that as a player, where you just start flowing and playing well, and everybody around me just was making plays as well and executing at a high level.
"Obviously we knew what we needed to change at halftime, and I'm just glad we were able to go out there and do that and start making some big-time plays."
Rodgers called Love's game "outstanding," and the two are apparently planning to swap jerseys at some point. Love might want to hang onto this record-tying one, though, as his completion streak tied Brett Favre's franchise mark, one of Favre's few records Rodgers didn't surpass while winning four MVPs and a Super Bowl over 15 seasons.
Maybe Love's got a longer completion streak in him at some point. Who knows? After this game, who could doubt him?
Certainly none of his teammates, who didn't hold back in their postgame comments.
Romeo Doubs: "That's J-Love, man."
Watson: "That's monster stuff. He really took command. He was definitely huge."
Rashan Gary: "He's him … he is him and (number) 10 is coming."
Micah Parsons: "He showed he's the successor. He's the up and coming. Talking about when I was coming here, I was like, 'I know they've got a quarterback, I know I've got a quarterback.'"
Love's poise continues to serve him well, whether it's in the face of a blitz or with the QB he replaced giving everything he has to beat him.
Head Coach Matt LaFleur has seen that steady demeanor at every step along the way, observing Love stay patient for three years, carry himself as a confident leader and supportive teammate once he took over, and most recently come into his own.
"It's been cool – and I've said this many times – just to watch how he's matured as a young guy coming in here at 21 years old," LaFleur said. "He's a grown-ass man now.
"Going into this game, I'm sure he put a lot on himself … he's just so consistent in who he is, through the good times and the bad times. There's moments where you can sense the frustration from him, but he keeps going. To be honest with you, I kind of like it when he gets a little (ticked) off because you don't see it too often."
Knowing Love, he'll keep those emotions in check and out of public view for now. There's no reason to change who he is.
The guy who replaced a legend proved he can do it his own way. It's working just fine.
