For the Packers, the injury news of late has been so focused on the knee of Josh Jacobs and the possible return of Jayden Reed that it was easy to overlook the fact that star quarterback Jordan Love is not exactly 100% either. Love injured his shoulder last week against the Giants, but the injury was to his non-throwing shoulder, and Love himself downplayed its severity.
On Sunday morning, though, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport noted that the Love injury probably should be taken more seriously.
Wrote Rapoport: “#Packers QB Jordan Love is a go today, but he’ll be fighting through an AC joint sprain in his left shoulder. This injury (aka separated shoulder) left Love visibly bruised and if it was his right shoulder, he wouldn’t be playing. Instead, he was full go in practice.”
So when Love led the Packers to a methodical, workmanlike 23-6 win over the Vikings on Sunday, in which he went just 14-for-21 passing with no touchdowns and 139 yards, concern about his health shot up immediately.
Jordan Love: ‘I’m Good’
But after the win, Love downplayed, as usual, the notion that he is hurt or that the shoulder affected his play.
“I’m good, I am good,” he said. “I took a couple hits but you know, I am feeling good right now.”
The downturn in Love’s statistical production was not necessarily a factor of the shoulder. It was just that backup running back Emanuel Wilson performed so admirably in place of Jacobs, going for 107 yards on 28 carries.
“Some of it was just the way we were running it on early downs and so I think you just keep flowing with that momentum and you keep trying to pound it,” Love said. “The O-line was doing a great job on them. So, keep trusting that. The defense was balling out and getting a lot of stops. I think that plays a part in it, too. They were imposing their will up front and we’ve got to keep rolling with that.”
Packers Defense Dominated
Indeed, the defense was impressive on Sunday, as the Packers held Minnesota to just 145 yards of offense and only 10 first downs. Green Bay dominated with 37:15 in time of possession, to just 22:45 for the Vikings.
And the Packers forced two interceptions and a lost fumble.
Said Love: “The mindset going into it is always winning the turnover battle. We did that today. You get into it and the defense is balling like that, coming up with stop after stop, that mindset is keep taking care of the ball and don’t make mistakes. And keep hammering away at it. Keep putting together some good drives, and we did that.”
Jordan Love Impressed With Packers’ Emanuel Wilson
All that gave the game the feel of a mid-1960s Big Ten battle, with a rough-and-tumble defense and a stalwart running back. The Packers are likely to get Jacobs back on Thursday, when they play the Lions, but Wilson made a remarkable accounting of himself.
The mindset going into it is always winning the turnover battle. We did that today. You get into it and the defense is balling like that, coming up with stop after stop, that mindset is keep taking care of the ball and don’t make mistakes. And keep hammering away at it. Keep putting together some good drives, and we did that.
“Obviously, (Wilson) did a lot of great things last week and he is a guy that we’ve got confidence in,” Love said.
“For him to be able to find out that as well, that Josh wasn’t going, I think he was preparing mentally all week to be the guy, and then to find out and come out here and have over 100 yards, and break off some of the runs that he did was pretty cool. So great job by him and stuff to keep building on and for him to just keep being ready when that opportunity presents itself, and to take advantage of it the more carries he got.”
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