GREEN BAY — Whether the new nickname sticks or not largely depends on how often Jordan Love must utilize what has become his signature move. 

But to be sure, the Green Bay Packers would much rather their offensive line do a better job protecting their star quarterback so he doesn’t have to use it so often.

Love had spent much of the Packers’ season-opening 39-22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings running for his life. He’d still managed to throw for 387 yards (the second-highest single-game total of his career) and two touchdowns while generating seven pass plays that went for 20 yards or more But it was frequently with a pass rusher in his face.

He’d conjured up many of those on-the-mark throws by escaping the pocket and then getting them off despite the on-rushing defender because he has an uncanny ability to throw accurately while falling backwards, like a basketball player draining a fadeaway 3-pointer.

The irony was that during training camp, Love had shared that he was targeting his footwork as his primary area for improvement, wanting to be more in balance in the pocket and to step into his throws more — and fall away at the end of his throws less.

Against the Vikings, though, it had been the offense’s saving grace.

And in the intervening days between that game and Sunday’s Week 2 matchup with the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Love’s wide receivers found themselves marveling at how he’d pulled off some of those throws — since they can’t see them live in the moment because they’re often mid-route as he’s launching the ball.

“I mean, for him to be able to make some of those throws fading away like that, you see it on film, you’re like, ‘Damn, that’s crazy,’” second-year wideout Matthew Golden said. “I don’t know how he does it, man. Special.”

So special, in fact, that Jayden Reed decided to bestow a new nickname upon his quarterback:

“Black Mamba,” Reed said, grinning — referring, of course, to Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant, the five-time NBA champion and 18-time All-Star — when asked what he thought of Love’s fadeaway, off-his-back-foot throws.

Asked why Bryant immediately crossed his mind, Reed — a standout basketball player in high school who hosts a celebrity hoops tournament in Chicago’s inner city each year — shook his head.

To him, the parallel was obvious.

“Kobe, man. Kobe. I mean, once he’d get on that back foot, you know what’s going on. The ball’s going in,” Reed said. “So that’s how I look at it.

“He is phenomenal at those throws. I’ve never seen anybody that throws off the back foot like that and has so many completions. It’s just his talent getting put on display.”

No sooner had that interview ended, and Reed was already testing out the nickname.

“It’s better than ‘Pookie,’” Love said with a laugh, referring to the moniker his wife Ronika has disavowed after it went viral on social media two years ago.

All kidding aside, Love said the fadeaway throws undeniably serve a purpose, but that he still wants to do a better job of only fading away on throws when absolutely necessary.

“When you have a clean pocket around you, you don’t need to do it unnecessarily,” Love explained. “I’ve always had a tendency to — especially on deep balls — kind of throw it and fall back. People joke about, “Oh, fadeaway jumper, but like I don’t know. I think it’s kind of naturally how I’ve always thrown on some throws.

“It’s kind of that double-edged sword. There are times where you’ve got to do it, and there are times where I want to eliminate some of it when I don’t need to, because I think when I’m in balance, I’m so much more accurate at times. I think it’s just understanding that some situations, guys are going to be in your face and it’s, ‘How can I buy time?’ I’ve gotten more accurate probably the more I’ve done it.

“But when I have a clean pocket, when I have time to set my feet and be as balanced as possible — I think that’s when I’m at my best. And then there are times that you just have to do it, when you have guys in your lap, in your face, and you’ve still got to deliver a good throw.”

​COPYRIGHT 2026 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.