GREEN BAY — When Matt LaFleur talks about how “even-keeled” his quarterback is — and that might be the adjective the Green Bay Packers head coach uses to describe Jordan Love more than any other — the compliment is intended to describe how Love handles every aspect of his job.

His connectivity with his teammates. His reactions to when plays go awry. His levelheaded leadership style that prefers one-on-one conversations over u-rah-rah speeches in front of the team (even though LaFleur would like to expand his repertoire this season).

And, normally, in his conversations with the media.

But during one of his two Q&A sessions with reporters during the offseason, Love showed a level of irritation that was, well, not exactly even-keeled. It happened when he was asked about the “step back” he took in 2024.

“I mean, what is a step back is what I’d ask? You know what I mean?” Love replied, in an edgier tone that he’d rarely — if ever — taken with reporters in his interactions with them. “Everybody has different opinions, things like that. You’ve got to block that stuff out. It’s all about the goals of the team at the end of the day.

“I’d say we won more games than we did the year before. That’s why I ask people what is a step back? Like I said, everybody has opinions. [I have to] try to block that out and focus on doing me and being the best player I can be — like I’ve talked about — and go forward.

“But at the end of the day, personal stats, things like that, that’s all in the back. You’ve got to focus on the goals of the team, first and foremost.”

Love is right, of course. The team’s success matters far more than his individual production. But for the Packers to achieve those goals as a team, they need him — more than anyone else on the roster — to play up to his capabilities.

And although he bristled at the question at the time — and although the exchange generated all kinds of debate in the sports commentary space in the days that followed about whether Love took a step back, failed to take as big of a step forward as expected, or actually progressed despite the numbers not supporting such a belief — the bottom line is that the Packers need their leader to play like the quarterback he has shown he’s capable of being.

And he needs to do so more often than he did last year.

To be sure, Love’s left knee injury (sustained in the waning moments of the team’s season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil) and his left groin injury (suffered during the first half of a Week 8 win in Jacksonville where backup Malik Willis delivered in the closing moments) affected Love’s play. So, too, did his receivers’ inability to catch the ball consistently, as only two other teams dropped more passes than the Packers.

But whether you see those as excuses or explanations, the truth is that while the Packers won more regular-season games last season (11) than they did in 2023 (nine), two of those wins (over Indianapolis and Tennessee) came with Willis starting in his place. And while Love was absolutely magnificent in an NFC wild card win over the Dallas Cowboys on the road in the 2023 postseason, he threw three interceptions in last year’s season-ending playoff loss to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Eagles.

Let’s not forget how fantastic Love was during the second half of 2023. Over the final eight regular-season games, in his near-perfect performance in that playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys, and up until he threw an interception on his final third-quarter pass in the Packers’ season-ending NFC divisional loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Love completed 70.4% of his passes for 2,597 yards with 23 touchdowns and just one interception (116.5 passer rating).

By comparison, in the Packers’ three straight losses to end 2024 — losses at Minnesota and at home to the Chicago Bears to end the regular season, followed by the playoff loss to the Eagles — Love completed only 61.3% of his throws for 466 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions for a passer rating of 66.9.

Love must play at a higher level in Year 3 as the starter than he did last year, when he finished 19th in passing yards (3,389), tied for 10th in touchdown passes (28), and 11th in passer rating (96.7).

If he does, then his publicly-stated priority — to win an NFL title, which would be the Packers’ first since his predecessor, Aaron Rodgers, led them to one in his third year as the starter — could perhaps come to fruition.

“You’re talking about [a] Super Bowl. That’s the goal for us,” Love said during that same offseason interview. “We talked about that last year, and that’s the same message this year. We’re trying to win a Super Bowl.

“[And] I’m definitely trying to be that guy to be able to take this team and lead them to that.”

About our “Most Important Packers of 2025” Series:  When the Packers kick off their seventh training camp under head coach Matt LaFleur on July 23, they’ll do so with a host of players facing pivotal seasons. LaFleur clearly believes he has ample talent to be a Super Bowl contender — even if he didn’t want to say so as the offseason program came to a close — but turning that belief into reality will require many of those players to produce at higher levels than they have in the past. This series, which began in 2010 on ESPNWisconsin.com, examines each of those players and how the team’s success hinges on their contributions. The list is compiled with input from team observers, former players and NFL sources.

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