Packers’ Jordan Love enjoys strong preseason debut, throws TD to Romeo Doubs vs. Bengals

Jordan Love’s debut as the Green Bay Packers‘ starting quarterback was a success. The four-year veteran threw a touchdown pass and completed most of his attempts during his two series of work during Friday night’s game in Cincinnati. 

The 2020 first-round pick went 7 of 10 for 46 yards. His final play of the night was a 9-yard touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs, who also caught a 12-yard pass on the seven-play drive. 

Love started the night with a short, six-yard completion to Aaron Jones in the flat. He hit rookie tight end Luke Musgrave for eight yards and a first down on the next play. 

Love nearly hit on a big play when he lofted a deep pass to Christian Watson down the near sideline. Daxton Hill, the Bengals‘ second-year safety, made a heads-up play when he raced over to knock the ball down before Watson could get his hands on it. The Packers punted two plays later after Love threw an errant pass to Musgrave on third down. 

Love was sharper on the Packers’ next drive. He went 5 of 6 while completing his touchdown pass to Doubs as Green Bay took a 7-0 lead. 

Friday night’s performance mimicked what Love displayed during the Packers’ recent joint practice against the Bengals.

“I thought he did a good job making his checks, going through his reads, kind of seeing what we were in and thinking about it, taking his time,” said Bengals defensive tackle D.J. Reader, via ESPN. “It didn’t seem like a panic back there. Even his ‘can’ calls [when he audibles], he knew what he was going to do. It was good.

“I thought he did a good job just going through his reads, commanding the offense, getting them in and out of the huddle. I could hear his calls, so he was pretty precise in the huddle.”

Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt said Love actually sounded like Aaron Rodgers at times during the practice. 

“When he comes to the line making checks, he’s similar,” Pratt said. “You being with a Hall of Fame quarterback, why not steal some of his game? I would do that. If there’s a Hall of Famer, I’m going to steal some of his game and apply it to mine.”

While it’s obviously too early to make any comparisons to Rodgers, Love is off to an encouraging start, which should be good news for Packers fans who are looking for reasons to be optimistic about the team’s chances in 2023.