Packers’ confidence in QB Love ‘not wavering’

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers‘ belief in Jordan Love remains high, but so does their injury count.

Those were the takeaways from Lambeau Field on Monday, one day after a third straight loss that saw Love and the offense struggle while players dropped out at an alarming pace on Sunday at Denver.

The Packers (2-4) were shut out in the first half of the 19-17 loss to the Broncos and have been outscored 63-6 in the first halves of their past four games. In the only victory in that stretch, the Packers came back from a 17-0 deficit to beat the Saints in Week 3.

In the first year of the post-Aaron Rodgers era, Love started fast with seven touchdowns and one interception on the way to a 2-1 start. But in the three straight losses, Love has just three touchdowns and six interceptions.

Still, the Packers had a chance to take the lead over the Broncos on their final possession, but Broncos safety P.J. Locke picked off a deep shot on third-and-20 with 1:40 to go. By then, Love was without receiver Christian Watson, who left on that series with a knee injury, and tight end Luke Musgrave, who left earlier with an ankle injury. The Packers’ offensive line also has been banged up, with left tackle David Bakhtiari lost for the season and left guard Elgton Jenkins battling knee problems.

All of that has made Love’s first season as a starter, after the 2020 first-round pick sat behind Rodgers for three years, a challenge

“It all works in unison, so the better everybody is around him, the better he’s going to look,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said on Monday.

“Our confidence in him is not wavering one bit. Certainly as the playcaller you put a lot of onus on yourself when things aren’t going well, and we’ll continue to do that, but we’ve got to find a way to generate more points because when you’re generating points, it’s just a totally different narrative.”

It looks like Love might have Watson this week when the Packers try to rebound against the Minnesota Vikings. He said Monday that tests on his knee came back clean.

“I’m just trying to get the initial pain and stuff out of there, and I think I’ll be good to go,” Watson said. Musgrave’s status remains unclear. LaFleur did not offer any injury updates on Monday other than to say some of the injured players were still being evaluated.

The Packers lost three defensive players against the Broncos, and at least one of them will have long-term implications. Safety Darnell Savage aggravated a calf injury that he first sustained in the Oct. 9 loss at the Raiders. He left in the second quarter, and a source told ESPN that he will miss multiple weeks and could wind up on injured reserve, which would keep him out of four games minimum.

The Packers also lost defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (knee) and cornerback Eric Stokes (hamstring) against Denver. Stokes got hurt on a special teams play. It was his first action since last November, when he sustained a foot injury. The Packers were already without cornerback Jaire Alexander (who missed his third game because of a back injury) and linebacker De’Vondre Campbell (who missed the past three games because of an ankle injury).