Matt LaFleur is making sure Packers don’t relax despite winning streak
The Green Bay Packers have won four straight games, but coach Matt LaFleur is making sure his team stays focused.
It wasn’t the return of Aaron Rodgers Tuesdays on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
During his first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Rodgers has been noticeably absent from the slot he held on the show for five years.
No, it was actually his successor taking that Tuesday spot – at least for one day – on Dec. 9.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love appeared on the ESPN show with McAfee, former Packers linebacker AJ Hawk and the rest of the cast as he covered a variety of topics about the team, with snow falling outside his Green Bay home.
Love’s appearance on the show during the team’s off day comes with him playing at a high level in his third season as the starting quarterback and having the Packers, who’ve won their last four games, as the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff picture.
“We feel the magic right now,” Love said.
Here are a few takeaways from his appearance on McAfee’s show:
Jordan Love thriving again during Toyotathon
Love is all in on Toyotathon. He’s a well-known spokesperson for the car company and fully embraces it during this time.
He sported a Toyotathon jacket throughout the interview, a nod to the company’s annual holiday sale, which has involved Love in commercials. And this year, Toyota has issued a limited run of 250 Panini cards. Each is numbered and contains a piece of the quarterback’s Toyotathon sweater. The card also includes Love’s Toyotathon stats.
Coincidence or not, Love elevates his game during Toyotathon. Entering this season, Love had 28 touchdowns to only two interceptions and a 68.3 completion percentage during past years’ sale period. The Packers were 11-5 during this stretch the last two years.
He has continued this impressive run during the promotion this season. The Packers are 3-0 and Love has seven touchdowns to one interception and a 67.6 completion percentage. Toyotathon goes through the end of the regular season.
“It’s all about that Toyotathon magic,” Love said, “where you start playing your best ball in the second half of the season.”
Jordan Love on Packers
At 9-3-1, the Packers indeed have been playing well lately, though there are four games left and it hasn’t always been easy this season.
But Love likes the makeup of the team heading into Week 15.
“We got a squad,” Love said. “That’s something we’ve been building these past two years. We’ve been stacking this thing and kept getting better and better.
“We’ve added some pieces to our squad and it’s all about finding ways to play our best ball. We’ve had some games not played to our standard. These past couple of weeks, we’ve just elevated.”
Jordan Love on Packers coach Matt LaFleur
About a month ago, it wasn’t hard to find someone questioning coach Matt LaFleur’s play-calling abilities, whether on social media or national sports shows.
Should he give up calling plays? Why isn’t he aggressive enough? Is he holding Love back?
Well, you won’t find Love saying any of that. And some of that noise around LaFleur has quieted for now as the Packers have won their last four games and he’s shown an aggressive approach in a win over Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions.
On their relationship, Love said: “It’s awesome. Matt’s one of the best. … Matt does a great job, he communicates clearly with how we’re trying to attack the defense. I think he’s one of the best offensive-minded coaches in the NFL.”
Love said he and LaFleur remain in sync on game days.
“He’s a guy who he’s always there right next to me, making sure we’re on the same page,” Love said.
Jordan Love on Packers offense, Christian Watson
For much of the season, the Packers offense was in a bad place. It didn’t have a good flow and wasn’t stretching the field. Scoring totals reflected that, none more than in back-to-back home losses in November when the Packers put up a combined 20 points – 13 against the Carolina Panthers and seven against the Philadelphia Eagles.
But as the weather has turned, so has the offense. The Packers are averaging just over 27 points per game during their four-game winning streak. While they’re not getting all of their injured players back this season, some key pieces have returned in recent weeks.
What’s the difference?
“The biggest part of our offense is finding those explosive plays,” Love said. “We got some big-time playmakers. Since Christian’s been back and gotten healthy, he’s been stepping up and making some huge plays.”
Watson, who didn’t play in the first seven games of the season while recovering from a torn ACL, has five touchdowns in the last four weeks and has touchdown catches of 51 and 41 yards in the last two games.
While watching a clip from Watson’s second touchdown against the Bears, when he turned a short crossing route across the middle to the house for the 41-yard score, Love said: “Just the speed he has and ability to create those yards after the catch is something that not a lot of guys can do.”
Love said the key to the offense is “finding those explosive plays, putting pressure on the defense and taking shots down the field.”
Jordan Love on Micah Parsons
Micah Parsons has been feasting this season on quarterbacks. And Love is loving the view.
“It’s been fun to watch Micah out there and just see the type of havoc he’s able to wreck on an offense and the O-line,” Love said. “I’ve played against him. I’ve game-planned against him. I know how hard it is to game-plan for a player like that who can wreck a game. And now it’s just time for him to eat.”
Love made no secret in the offseason about his desire to team with Parsons. And that became a reality when the Packers made the blockbuster trade to acquire the All-Pro edge rusher from the Dallas Cowboys a week before the season.
“It was a huge boost,” Love said. “Going into OTAs and training camp, we had a really good defense, (but) you add one of the best edge rushers in all of football with that trade and everybody got a big boost of confidence in knowing what he brings to the table.”
Parsons, who earned NFC Defensive Player of the Month honors in October, enters the final four games of the season fourth in the NFL with 12.5 sacks.
Watch Jordan Love on The Pat McAfee Show