Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love committed a major mistake late in his team’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night, and he did not hide from it after the game.
The Packers had the ball and were trailing 24-21 with less than a minute remaining in their Divisional Round matchup with the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Love was trying to put together either a game-tying or game-winning drive when 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw sealed the win for San Francisco with an interception.
Love tried to force the ball over the middle of the field. He also threw the pass across his body while on the run. You can see the play below:
INT NO. 2 FROM DRE GREENLAW!
📺: #GBvsSF on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/yDUx5ZutVa pic.twitter.com/m2bUwvM8TK— NFL (@NFL) January 21, 2024
When asked about the interception, Love told reporters he committed a “mortal sin.”
“Looking back on it, yeah, throw it away. I don’t know if I had an opportunity to be able to run, maybe get out of bounds but, you know, force it across the middle late, which is a mortal sin and it cost us,” Love said, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “So it’s something I’ll look at. That’s an area right there I’ll be able to look at, grow from, and get better in the future.”
Christian Watson was covered closely by Greenlaw and Fred Warner. Love will see that when he watches the tape and realize that he made a bad read in addition to throwing across his body.
Of course, there are plenty of positives for Love and the Packers to take from their 2023 season. Love may have helped Kyle Shanahan and the Niners snap an ugly streak, but he exceeded expectations all year. Green Bay should feel good about the future after the way Love played in his first season as a starter.
