ARLINGTON, Texas -- Entering into a Super Wild Card Weekend showdown against the second-seeded Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium -- a building in which the home team had won 16 in a row -- the seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers and quarterback Jordan Love needed to play just about perfect football.
Love did, throwing for 272 passing yards and three touchdowns on 16 for 21 passing, which earned him a 157.2 passer rating, 1.1 points away from a perfect 158.3 rating in the Packers' 48-32 victory. That 157.2 passer rating is the new single-game Packers postseason record. His 13 yards per pass attempt are also the most by a Packers quarterback ever in a playoff game, and Love has now thrown 21 touchdowns and only one interception in Green Bay's last nine games. Naturally, the Packers have won seven of their last nine, including four in a row.
"It feels great," Jordan Love said postgame on Sunday. "I'm trying to hide some smiles. It's a party in that locker room right now. It feels great."
Green Bay's 48 points are tied for the second-most ever scored on the road in a single game in NFL playoff history, trailing only Chicago's 73-point outburst against Washington in the 1940 NFL Championship Game. No team has ever scored more points with their starting quarterback making his postseason debut.
"Man, Jordan Love. Wow. That's about all I can say, is wow," Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said postgame. "What he did, the poise he shows, the command he shows. The touchdown pass to Dontayvion Wicks. We were obviously in an empty set. He had, I think it was (tight end) Tucker (Kraft), max protect. It was a great job by Tuck and the rest of our offensive line. And for him to hang in there and get that throw. Wicks made a hell of a catch. Those are things that, you can try to coach it, but what a moment for him. To me, that was a big time play. It just shows the growth that he's had from his first start versus KC to now. I'm just so proud and happy for him. He is, he's a dude. He's a real dude."
LaFleur highlighted his confidence in Love from the very start of the game. He instructed his team captains to ask to receive the opening kickoff and put Love and the offense out there first to begin the game. The Packers offense rewarded LaFleur's faith with a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive capped by the first of running back Aaron Jones' three rushing touchdowns from three yards out. That tied Jones for the most road rushing touchdowns in a single playoff game in NFL history and the most rushing touchdowns in a game in wild card round history.
"That's the mindset," Love said postgame. "We're trying to get the offense out there, start fast, go put up points and like I said, just get to that fast start. That's what we've been doing all season. That's what's been working for us so we try to keep that rolling. I think it all starts with how we begin the game ... start fast, put up points and put that pressure back on them."
The most deadly connection of the evening was Love's with second-year wideout Romeo Doubs, who hauled in all six of his targets for 151 yards and a touchdown. Doubs' first catch, a 22-yarder over the middle behind the Cowboys' zone coverage, jumpstarted Green Bay's offense on the opening drive. Jones was stuffed for a combined -3 yards on his first two carries prior to that big play over the middle. His 151 yards are the third-most all time in a single postseason in Packers history, trailing Davante Adams' 160 yards against the Seattle Seahawks in the 2019 season and Jermichael Finley's 159 against the Arizona Cardinals in the 2009 season.
"It was awesome, just how locked in Romeo was this whole week," Love said. "Obviously, it showed with the performance he put on. But we needed him and he stepped up huge. He was able to put a couple really good routes on tape. He made some huge explosive plays. That last catch he had was awesome. I'm proud of Romeo and the way he's continued to battle, like you said. He probably has not gotten as many balls his way as he wanted to, but he continues to come to work and find ways to get better. He made some plays tonight!"
Green Bay is the youngest team to win a playoff game since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger. While many like to tout the importance of postseason experience this time of year, LaFleur said his team's youth turned out to be a major advantage on Sunday.
"I think there's a little bit of freedom of that in terms of how you go out and play, and these guys, they went for it," LaFleur said. "That's exciting to see. Every phase, you could see it in the way we played. Our play style. Just how aggressive we were, and really in every phase, and each phase contributed to the win."
Love's near-perfect performance wasn't out of the blue: his 32 passing touchdowns in the regular season were the second-most in the entire NFL behind only Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott's 36. It's now what Green Bay expects of their first-time starter.
'"We've seen it the past five weeks," Packers right tackle Zach Tom said postgame. "We know what he can do. I saw he had the highest passer rating, that's what Coach (LaFleur) said after the game. I'm focused on blocking, so I don't really know what else is going on. I just know he had a good day, and that's what we expect of him. We just have to give him time."
The Packers quarterback shared the credit, saying his historic output is indicative of what Green Bay as capable of as an entire unit. Now, they have their biggest test yet in the divisional round: a date with the NFC's top seed, the San Francisco 49ers, Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET.
"I think it just shows the world what we're all about as a team," Love said. "We've been counted out so many times. I think it was just a great team win tonight. All three phases were able step up. When we're playing complementary ball like that, I think we're tough to beat."
