The Green Bay Packers’ last playoff victory came nearly two years ago, when Jordan Love dismantled the Dallas Cowboys in his postseason debut. That 48-32 Wild Card blowout on Jan. 14, 2024, remains the high-water mark of the Love era — and the standard he’ll need to rediscover when the Packers face the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field tonight.
The Cowboys game was Love’s introduction to playoff football, but you wouldn’t have known it. He went 16-of-21 for 272 yards and three touchdowns. Aaron Jones ran for 118 yards and three scores. Darnell Savage returned an interception 64 yards for a touchdown. The Packers became the first No. 7 seed to win a playoff game since the format expanded.
Jordan Love’s Playoff Career: Brilliance Followed by Regression
That performance in Dallas was impressive, but Love has struggled in the postseason ever since. A week after torching the Cowboys, he threw two interceptions in a Divisional Round loss to San Francisco, including a costly late mistake that sealed the Packers’ fate. Last January brought more of the same: a 22-10 Wild Card loss in Philadelphia, where Love threw three picks against an Eagles defense that overwhelmed Green Bay from the start.
The numbers are stark. Love has five interceptions in his last six postseason quarters. His playoff passer rating outside of the Dallas game sits well below 70. The Bears, who led the NFL with 23 interceptions this season, represent exactly the kind of turnover-forcing defense that has given him fits.
Love hasn’t shied away from acknowledging what went wrong. “Every play is something to learn from and grow from,” he told reporters this week. “That’s the mindset I’ve always taken. I think, like I mentioned going into the playoffs having to win and then having a couple tough losses, it all shapes you going into the offseason.”
The circumstances surrounding tonight’s game add another layer of uncertainty. Love hasn’t played since suffering a concussion on a helmet-to-helmet hit from Bears defensive end Austin Booker in the Dec. 20 meeting between these teams — a 22-16 overtime loss in Chicago. He cleared concussion protocol last week but sat out the regular-season finale against Minnesota.
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Head coach Matt LaFleur has dismissed concerns about rust.
“There’s nobody else I’d rather have than Jordan,” LaFleur said. “I’ve got so much confidence in not only him but everything around him to go out there and execute the way I think we’re capable of executing.”
What That Dallas Win Looked Like — And Why It Matters Tonight
Revisiting the Cowboys game provides a blueprint for what the Packers need from Love. Green Bay jumped to a 27-7 halftime lead, scoring touchdowns on six of its first seven offensive possessions. Love attacked downfield early, connecting on first-half completions of 22, 26, and 39 yards that kept Dallas on its heels. Romeo Doubs caught six passes for 151 yards and a touchdown. The offensive line kept Love clean. He operated with rhythm, confidence, and the kind of decision-making that vanished in subsequent playoff appearances.
Dallas entered that game as the No. 2 seed with an 8-0 home record. The Cowboys hadn’t lost at AT&T Stadium since the 2022 season opener. None of it mattered. Green Bay imposed its will from the opening drive, an eight-minute march that set the tone for everything that followed.
“We came in here with a mindset of we’re going to dominate,” Love said after that win. “A lot of people were counting us out, and we didn’t care about that.”
The Packers (9-7-1) enter tonight’s Wild Card matchup in similar territory — seventh-seeded underdogs for the third consecutive year, riding a four-game losing streak, playing a divisional opponent that recently beat them. The Bears (11-6) won the NFC North and boast a defense built to force mistakes.
These teams have met in the playoffs just twice — in 1941 and 2010 — with the Packers defeating the Bears in the 2010 NFC Championship en route to their Super Bowl XLV title. But recent history tells a different story. The teams split the regular-season series this year, with each winning at home, and Love was knocked out of the most recent game in the second quarter.
Running back Josh Jacobs, who fumbled inside the five-yard line during that December loss, hasn’t forgotten.
“They lead the league in turnovers, so that’s something we definitely know about their team,” Jacobs said. “I think about that drive. I’m like, man, if we score right there, really the game is over.”
The margin for error is razor-thin. Love’s ability to protect the ball and recapture the efficiency he showed in Dallas will determine whether the Packers’ season extends to a Divisional Round matchup or ends the same way the last two have.
Two years is a long time between playoff wins for a franchise with 13 championships. Tonight, Love has the chance to end the drought.
