Packers deal with the guessing game of how to win without quarterback Jordan Love

Love, who was helped off the field in the closing seconds of the Packers’ 34-29 loss is said to have injured his medial collateral ligament — but not his ACL — and should return this season

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) gets hurt during the second half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, at the Neo Quimica Arena in Sao Paulo. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)Read moreAndre Penner / AP

by Steve Megargee, Associated Press

Published Sept. 7, 2024, 6:40 p.m. ET

The Green Bay Packers wasted a golden opportunity to start their season on a winning note with Jordan Love running their offense.

Now, they’re going to try to bounce back without their franchise quarterback, at least for a little while.

Love was helped off the field in the closing seconds of the Packers’ 34-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday in Brazil. A person familiar with the situation said Love had injured his medial collateral ligament — but not his ACL — and should return this season.

The person spoke to the AP anonymously because the team hadn’t announced the severity of Love’s injury. A timetable for Love’s return wasn’t specified. ESPN and NFL Network first reported the update on Love, with ESPN saying Love could miss three to four weeks and NFL Network estimating it at three to six weeks.

“Obviously you don’t want to see the leader of your team get hurt,” running back Josh Jacobs said after the game.

Love, 25, was playing his first regular-season game since signing a four-year, $220 million contract extension this summer. The Packers entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations largely because of the emergence of Love, who led the NFL’s youngest team to a surprising playoff berth last season as a first-year starter.

So, the Packers can breathe a sigh of relief that Love will be back this year. But for now, they’re facing a serious issue at quarterback.

Malik Willis, a 2022 third-round draft pick out of Liberty, is the only other quarterback on the Packers’ 53-man roster. He generally has been considered a much more polished runner than a passer. Willis has made three career starts – all in his rookie year – and didn’t throw for 100 yards in any of them.

Also, Willis joined the Packers less than two weeks ago when they acquired him from the Tennessee Titans for a 2025 seventh-round pick, so he might not have developed much of a rhythm with this offense.

Another possibility is 2023 fifth-round pick Sean Clifford. The Packers cut Clifford and rookie seventh-round pick Michael Pratt after acquiring Willis, but they later brought Clifford back on the practice squad.

It would have helped if the Packers could have banked an early win Friday in a game Love started, but they failed to capitalize on a night when they gained 414 yards in total offense. Penalties, red-zone failures, and an inability to slow down Saquon Barkley proved too much to overcome.

“There’s a lot to clean up,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “It was definitely a sloppy game, I think, from us. There were some uncharacteristic things that we did as a staff, quite frankly, and that trickled down to our players. So, ultimately, we’ve all got to look ourselves hard in the mirror and find ways to get better because tonight obviously wasn’t good enough.”