Jordan Love and Aaron Rodgers may share a connection as former mentor and mentee, but their approach to accountability seems quite different. After the Green Bay Packers’ 24-14 loss, which included 10 penalties and several mistakes, head coach Matt LaFleur addressed the team’s “self-inflicted losses.” Among these, reporters noted three false starts, which LaFleur attributed to issues with Love’s cadence. Love, who threw for 273 yards without a touchdown, acknowledged the need for better discipline, emphasizing the importance of staying “locked in” to prevent costly mistakes.
During the post-game press conference, Love expressed his frustration with the penalties, which amounted to 67 lost yards, and noted the team’s lapses in focus, including a false start by Sean Rhyan that erased a 37-yard run by Josh Jacobs. Unlike Rodgers, who once faced similar critiques of his cadence in a game against the Denver Broncos, Love accepted responsibility for his role in the penalties and promised improvement.
In that past incident, former Jets head coach Robert Saleh had blamed Rodgers’ cadence for penalties during a rough 10-9 loss to the Broncos. The Jets committed 15 penalties in that game, including five pre-snap penalties due to confusion with Rodgers’ cadence. Rodgers later encouraged Saleh to hold the players accountable, leading to further tension. However, Saleh soon walked back his comments, though the episode became a point of criticism and contributed to his eventual dismissal.
In contrast, Love’s accountability offers a promising approach for the Packers as they prepare to face their rivals, the Chicago Bears, after their upcoming bye week. This time off gives Love and the Packers a chance to address these issues and come back stronger, showing a different style of leadership from Rodgers’
era.