5 Bold Predictions: Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers – Week 8
By Chris Schad
2. Jordan Love will throw under 30 passes
Packer fans were ready to build a statue of Jordan Love after he threw six touchdowns in his first two games, but the wheels have come off in recent weeks with seven interceptions in his past seven games.
So why has Love failed? It’s a combination of factors.
The first has to do with the environment around him. Aaron Jones has spent most of his time on the sideline nursing a hamstring injury, and the offensive line took a massive hit when David Bakhtiari was ruled out for the season with a lingering knee injury.
With Christian Watson also on the sideline, Love’s support system has deteriorated and forced Matt LaFleur to put more on his plate, averaging 35 pass attempts over the last four games.
Since then, LaFleur has reiterated the need to put his players in a better position to succeed, and that might lead to leaning more on the running game.
To that point, Love posted a 118.7 passer rating while averaging 26 pass attempts over the past two games, but recreating that success may be easier than done.
With Jones still struggling with the hamstring and A.J. Dillon struggling on the field, the Packers running game is in shambles. But with their quarterback also struggling to deal with his new role, the running game may be their best chance for success.