Jordan Love thrives in second chances to face opponents. Now, he gets another crack at Bears

Three of Jordan Love's toughest losses gave way to three of his most splendid victories. The Bears bring a different kind of test: a team Love crushed the first time.

Only three teams have seen Jordan Love start against them twice. All three forced him to rush throws, pressured him into mistakes, and made him play out of sorts the first time around. But given a second chance to face them, Love lit up the trio, delivering three of the finest performances of his young career so far. On Sunday, Love gets a second chance to beat a team he *checks notes* already lit up the first time: the Chicago Bears.

This time though, he’ll face a different challenge: once again thrive against a team that knows it has to change its blueprint to stop him. If Love can, he’ll likely get the Green Bay Packers a win and punch their ticket to the postseason.

All three first-time losses generated narratives that turned out to be ridiculous. After filling in on short notice for Aaron Rodgers in 2021 -- a game in which Love struggled to find answers for Steve Spagnuolo’s all-out blitzes -- some concluded Love didn’t have it. It was over. He looked like a deer in headlights, they said, and therefore would never be a franchise quarterback.

Never mind that the advanced numbers say he outplayed Patrick Mahomes that day -- more a credit to Joe Barry and his defense (no, seriously) than a mark in Love’s favor -- Love objectively struggled. Packers head coach Matt LaFleur credited Love for continuing to battle in the face of pressure and took the burden on himself for not having a better game plan for Kansas City Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo's exotic blitzes.

(via RBSDM.com)

Compare that game to what we saw a few weeks ago against the Chiefs, a game that saw Jordan Love torch the blitzing Kansas City defense, find his answers post-snap, and fire laser shots even into tight windows. LaFleur came with a better game plan to be sure, but Love played significantly better, finding a comfort among chaos rarely seen to that point in his NFL career.