GREEN BAY — Jordan Love insisted it’s just part of the gig. And that is a noble, admirable way to view all the punishment he’s absorbed through the season’s first six games. 

“I’m good. It’s football. You’re going to take some hits, and that’s part of playing the quarterback job,” the Green Bay Packers quarterback said following Sunday night’s win over the Dallas Cowboys at Lambeau Field.

“You’ve got to be able to stand in that pocket and take some hits and still deliver balls. So we’ll look at what we can clean up to obviously prevent [hits]. The goal is to not get hit, but for me, that’s my job. I’ve got to be able to stand in there. 

“If you want to be good in this league, you’ve got to be able to sit in there and take some hits and still deliver the ball. If I can hang in there, get the ball out, throw an accurate ball, let [pass catchers] run after the catch, we’ll be in a good spot.”

Nevertheless, the bone-jarring, teeth-rattling hits on Love cannot continue — at least, not if head coach Matt LaFleur, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich and Love’s teammates want him to make it through the remaining 11 games, including Sunday’s NFC North road showdown with the Detroit Lions at Ford Field, and lead them to the NFL postseason.

“He’s definitely getting hit way too hard. We’ve got to do a better job in protection,” Stenavich confessed Tuesday afternoon as the coaches put together their game plan for Sunday’s matchup between the Packers (4-2), who’ve won three in a row, and the Lions (3-2), who are coming off their bye week. “It’s just courage. That’s all it is — just courage to stand in there and deliver. It’s a rare quality, but he definitely has it.

“There were a couple plays where we were not on the same page last week [against Dallas], so we’ve got to make sure we clean that up. Because we can’t have free runners at the quarterback. You’ve got to make sure you protect him.”

And thusfar this season, the Packers haven’t been able to do that.

Heading into the Week 7 slate of games, Love has absorbed 45 quarterback hits, according to NFL official statistics — tied for the most in the league with Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson. He’s been sacked 13 times, which is tied for 10th-most in the league — a testament to how good he’s been at making subtle movements in the pocket to avoid pass-rushers or get the ball out of his hand before being taken down.

“We call it ‘no flinch.’ Can you stand in there knowing that you’re going to take a hit and deliver the football?” LaFleur said.

While the frequency of the QB hits has dropped in recent weeks — Love took 30 of those hits in the first three games, as the Packers started 1-2, and has taken half that many during the team’s three-game winning streak — he absorbed eight hits and three sacks in last Sunday night’s win over the Cowboys, even with LaFleur trying to move the pocket and reduce the number of straight drop-backs that put him in harm’s way.

Among the shots Love took were a sack by ex-Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark and three QB hits by ex-Packers edge rusher Rashan Gary.

“Jordan is tough. I gave up a little pressure and I saw Jordan make a completion — but just get absolutely smacked by Rashan,” tight end Tucker Kraft confessed. “You wish you could have those things back. You don’t want to see your quarterback on the ground.”

The offensive line has found stunts and twists by opposing defensive linemen particularly problematic, struggling to block their assigned pass rusher when things get confusing. And the Lions, who enter this week’s games with an NFL-high 20 sacks despite playing only five games, are especially adept with playing games up front, Stenavich said.

“The Lions, I think, do a really nice job with their twists. So we’re going to have a big week of working on that this week for sure,” Stenavich said.

In a noisy indoor stadium where his linemen will be a split-second slow getting off at the snap, Love will surely have to get the ball out under duress more than a few times.

“I know when we’re scouting quarterbacks and we’re evaluating them, to me, that’s a prerequisite,” LaFleur sai. “Now, that’s not to say that you can’t overcome that, but usually the old chuck-and-duck isn’t too good for anybody. So you always try to find guys that will stand in there and deliver in the face of pressure.

“It’s hard to find pockets like that in college football. So what we like to do is take a lot of the clips where you see a muddy pocket or you see guys blitzing the quarterback, and see how they react to those. Because that’s almost every play in the National Football League.”

Handling such conditions is among the areas where Love has shown the greatest amount of growth since the Packers selected him in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Even though LaFleur praised Love’s ability to make protection adjustments during training camp — and went so far as to claim that he’s surpassed his predecessor and mentor, four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, in that category — Love’s stand-and-deliver courage has been even more vital so far this season. 

“I thought he balled out [against the Cowboys]. I thought he played about as good as you could have played, and taking hits in the process,” LaFleur said. “I think you can see the effects when you hit a quarterback. … I don’t care who you are. It affects every quarterback.

“So, for him to be able to stand in there, especially after some of the abuse he took early on in the season, I think it’s a testament to him and his ability, and just how tough-minded of a guy he is.”

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