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Matt LaFleur won’t commit on Jordan Love playing against Vikings in Week 18.
Unfortunately for the Green Bay Packers, their Week 17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens marked their third straight defeat. Despite the skid, Green Bay is still postseason-bound. The bigger question now is whether starting quarterback Jordan Love will be ready in time.
With the loss to Baltimore, the Packers also officially lost the NFC North division title to the Chicago Bears. Their playoff fate is sealed as a wild-card team, entering the postseason as the No. 7 seed in the NFC.
That said, Green Bay still has one game remaining in the regular season before turning its full attention to the playoffs. The Packers will travel in Week 18 to face NFC North rival the Minnesota Vikings — ironically, the same team that helped Green Bay clinch a playoff berth by defeating the Detroit Lions in Week 17.
That sets up an interesting decision for head coach Matt LaFleur. With the outcome of the Week 18 game having no impact on Green Bay’s postseason position, sitting Love could be the sensible move. Then again, the decision may not be optional if Love isn’t cleared in time, leaving the team to go with Malik Willis for a second straight week.
Matt LaFleur Comments On Jordan Love’s Status For Week 18
With Love missing Week 17 against the Ravens, LaFleur was inevitably asked about his quarterback’s availability for the regular-season finale after the loss.
LaFleur didn’t offer much clarity just yet, though.
“I don’t want to speak too soon on that. We just want to get him through the protocol, and then we’ll have a decision to make,” LaFleur said, via NFL.com’s Jason Hirschhorn.
Given how banged up the Packers have been down the stretch, sitting Love in Week 18 could be just as much a strategic decision as a medical one. While Malik Willis has performed well in relief, ensuring Love is fully healthy for the postseason remains the top priority.
Matt LaFleur Explains Why Jordon Love Missed Week 17
Love was knocked out of Green Bay’s Week 16 loss to the Bears, a 22-16 overtime defeat, which led to questions about whether he might return against Baltimore.
LaFleur explained why that didn’t happen.
“I think he’s feeling physically good, but they have those measures in place, obviously, to protect our players, and he didn’t pass the necessary tests to clear the protocol,” LaFleur said after the game.
It was never a guarantee Love would be available against the Ravens, given the typical recovery timeline for concussions. The injury forced Love to miss his second start of the season. If he also misses Week 18, it would mark six missed games over the past two seasons dealing with injuries.
Ultimately, none of that will matter if Love returns healthy and helps snap the Packers’ current skid. While the Week 18 game against the Vikings won’t change Green Bay’s playoff seeding, momentum still matters. Entering the postseason on a potential four-game losing streak, with a possible fifth, would be brutal for a team that was once viewed as the league’s best and an early Super Bowl favorite.
Shane Shoemaker Shane Shoemaker is a sports journalist covering college football and the NFL for Heavy.com. His work has also appeared in The Sporting News, Athlon Sports, USA TODAY, and ClutchPoints, along with high school sports coverage for the Marion Tribune. More about Shane Shoemaker
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