Green Bay 38, Chicago 20
Jordan Love 's final passing stats: 15 of 27, 245 yards, 3 touchdowns.
Jordan Love finished with a QB rating of 123.2 and led a big day offensively for the Green Bay Packers in his first game taking over for Aaron Rodgers .
While Green Bay scored a touchdown on its first drive — it came on a short field after Chicago failed to convert a fourth-down attempt on its side of the field — it took awhile for Love and the Packers offense to get rolling.
In the second half, though, Love, the former Utah State quarterback, helped Green Bay put away its NFC North rivals as the Packers scored touchdowns on three of their first four possessions of the half.
Love, who threw for three touchdowns in the win, led six scoring drives in 10 possessions, including five touchdown drives.
He also ran for 12 yards as the Packers used a balanced run and pass game to easily get past the Bears while putting up 329 yards of total offense.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love hands off to running back Aaron Jones during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, in Chicago. | Erin Hooley, Associated Press
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love smiles as he listens to a question during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, in Chicago. The Packers won 38-20. | Nam Y. Huh, Associated Press
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) runs with the ball against the Chicago Bears during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, in Chicago. | Kamil Krzaczynski, Associated Press
Green Bay converted 9 of 16 third downs, and five of those conversions came on scoring drives.
Several of those conversions, in particular, stood out:
On Green Bay's first touchdown drive facing a third-and-13 at the Bears 43, Love connected with Romeo Doubs for a 13-yard gain.
Later in that same drive, Love threw to Doubs for an 8-yard touchdown on third-and-goal.
On the Packers' field-goal scoring drive just before halftime, Love connected with Jayden Reed on a 30-yard pass on third-and-10 in the final minute of the first half, setting up the field goal.
On Green Bay's first drive of the second half — the first of three second-half touchdown drives — Love used a 1-yard keeper to keep the drive alive.
On the Packers' next drive, Love failed to convert a third down in Chicago territory, running for 9 yards on a third-and-12, but that led to a fourth-down conversion when Love hit running back Aaron Jones for a 35-yard touchdown on the next play.
On Green Bay's final touchdown drive, Love again found Reed for a long gain, this time for 18 yards on a third-and-10 to help set up a short TD pass early in the fourth quarter.
Moments after the Bears scored their first touchdown of the game, along with a two-point conversion, to make it 24-14 late in the third quarter, Love executed a quick score to put the Packers back in control.
After a short run from AJ Dillon , Love completed four straight passes — of 5, 18, 37 and 4 yards — as part of a five-play, 61-yard touchdown drive.
Love showed poise on the 37-yard pass play to rookie tight end Luke Musgrave — after he fumbled the snap, Love calmly collected himself and looked downfield before hitting a wide-open Musgrave.
Love then connected with Romeo Doubs for a beautiful 4-yard touchdown pass in tight coverage to make it a 17-point game early in the fourth.
"There's a big-time belief in that locker room for Jordan Love. I think the guys are going to rally around him. They're excited for him. They love him, they respect him. He comes to work every day with a great attitude, great energy, and you saw that today." — Packers coach Matt LaFleur .
"It's definitely been a long time coming for me, three years as a backup," Love said. "Just watching, learning and growing, seeing this team work, it feels good to be out there leading those guys and be out there playing with them finally and coming out with a dub is just what we wanted." — Packers quarterback Jordan Love, per ESPN .
"He went out there and proved it, showed people that (he) can do this at a high level. I'm just so happy for him and the way that he competed and led the team out there. We're going to continue to stay behind him and he's going to be a great quarterback." — Packers running back Aaron Jones .
Green Bay 38, Chicago 20
Jordan Love's passing stats in fourth quarter: 4 of 5, 71 yards, 1 touchdown.
Possession No. 9: TOUCHDOWN; Possession No. 10: Punt.
2:53 — Jordan Love's day is done, as the Packers have brought in backup QB Sean Clifford to finish the game.
13:30 — Jordan Love threw his third touchdown on his best drive of the game, as Romeo Doubs high-pointed a pass from Love for a 4-yard touchdown catch in tight coverage. Green Bay 31, Chicago 14.
Love was clutch throughout the drive, including an 18-yard pass to Jayden Reed on third-and-8. On the next play, he fumbled the snap but stayed composed and threw downfield to rookie tight end Luke Musgrave for a 37-yard pass that set up the touchdown.
Love completed 4 of 4 passes for 65 yards on the TD drive, as the Packers responded quickly to the Bears' first touchdown of the game.
Green Bay 24, Chicago 14
Jordan Love's passing stats in third quarter: 4 of 6, 93 yards, 1 touchdown.
Possession No. 6: TOUCHDOWN; Possession No. 7: TOUCHDOWN; Possession No. 8: punt.
6:26 — Jordan Love completed his second touchdown pass, and this was a big one — a 35-yard pass to Aaron Jones on a fourth-and-3 play that extends the Packers' lead to 18. Green Bay 24, Chicago 6.
The Packers started the drive in excellent field position at the Chicago 42 after a long punt return from Jayden Reed, and Love set up the fourth-down play with a 9-yard scamper on third-and-12.
10:19 — Jordan Love led his second touchdown drive of the day, sparked largely by a 51-yard screen pass to Aaron Jones where the running back showcased his speed to get the Packers into the red zone. Three plays after the long pass, Jones cashed in with a 1-yard touchdown run. Green Bay 17, Chicago 6.
Green Bay 10, Chicago 6
Jordan Love's passing stats in second quarter: 4 of 10, 51 yards.
Possession No. 3: punt; Possession No. 4: punt; Possession No. 5: FIELD GOAL.
0:00 — Jordan Love has converted a number of third-down plays in the first half with long passes, including a 30-yard pass to Jayden Reed on third-and-10 on final drive before the half. That helped lead to a Anders Carlson 52-yard field goal to extend the Packers lead, though Love took a sack the play before the field goal. Green Bay 10, Chicago 6.
7:16 — Green Bay's first drive of the quarter ended in a three-and-out after Love couldn't complete a short pass on third-and-2.
Green Bay 7, Chicago 3
Jordan Love's passing stats in first quarter: 3 of 6, 30 yards, 1 touchdown.
Possession No. 1: TOUCHDOWN; Possession No. 2: punt.
6:08 — Jordan Love kicked off the season — and a new era of QB play for the Packers — with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs on third-and-goal. Green Bay 7, Chicago 0.
Love helped extend the scoring drive by connecting with Doubs for a 13-yard completion on third-and-13 after Green Bay took over the ball at the Chicago 41 — the Bears came up short after going for the first on a fourth-and-1.
Here are a few stories to get ready for Love facing the Bears in the season opener:
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