Victory Monday Cheese Curds: We can’t talk about Jordan Love enough after his first playoff win

How can he still be getting better week by week, and how much higher is his ceiling?

If anyone had any lingering questions about Jordan Love after his performance over the second half of the 2023 regular season, those questions should be frozen in the past, like a water bottle in Kansas City on Saturday night. Love delivered a nearly-perfect passer rating in his first playoff game on Sunday, doing so against the Dallas Cowboys’ top-five defense and one of the NFL’s best pass-rushers.

Every week, Love seems to be getting better. In the 48-32 demolition of the Cowboys, he led the Packers on a series of five straight touchdown drives, systematically dismantling Dan Quinn’s defense. It was a combination of good throws in rhythm and incredible improvisational plays, and his arm talent was on display for the entire world to see.

To be sure, the Packers’ offensive line and running game — thanks, Aaron Jones! — helped the offense stay balanced. That and the return of a fully healthy receiving corps gave Matt LaFleur the opportunity to craft a phenomenal game plan to pick apart the Cowboys, but it still required a good performance from Love to succeed.

“Good” doesn’t even begin to describe what the Packers got from their first-year starter.

Now the challenge gets even more difficult. With the win, the Packers earned a trip to play their own playoff nemeses, the San Francisco 49ers. Keeping the Niners’ offense in check and finding a way to repeat this offensive performance will be an even greater challenge than the one they just overcame in Texas on Sunday. But a great quarterback can be the great equalizer in this sport, and no QB is hotter right now than Love.

Opening, time-consuming drive got Packers started right | Packers.com
Matt LaFleur’s aggressiveness was on display from the opening coin toss, when the Packers won and elected to receive, and his offense paid off on that choice with a long touchdown drive to get the game started off right.

Packers’ Jordan Love Has One of Greatest Playoff Debuts Ever – Sports Illustrated
Love’s debut got off to a great start on that opening drive, with a few clutch throws, and he was nearly perfect in his first taste of playoff football.

Aaron Jones’ three touchdowns power Packers past Cowboys in wild-card win: ‘He’s a rare guy’ | NFL.com
Jones is no stranger to success against the Cowboys, but he kept up his hot streak with another amazing performance. It was his first 100-yard rushing game in the postseason, though he has had two other games with more than 100 yards from scrimmage.

Packers offensive line dominates in playoff upset over Cowboys | Packers Wire
Give the O-line a ton of credit: Love wasn’t sacked and behind Jones’ big day, the Packers racked up nearly 150 rushing yards.

Dak Prescott backs Mike McCarthy as Jerry Jones mum on coach’s future – ESPN
While the Packers now head to the Bay Area for next Saturday’s game with the 49ers, the Cowboys are facing an uncertain future with Jerry Jones’ postgame comments only adding fuel to the fire under Mike McCarthy’s seat.

‘No fun’: Toronto bans tobogganing at 45 hills across city, says councillor unhappy with move | CBC News
Canadians are ruining one of the only fun parts of a snowstorm’s aftermath. How dare they!