Jordan Love gave the Packers exactly the kind of day that gets people talking, and Mina Kimes made it clear she noticed. After Green Bay rolled past Chicago 31-7 on Sunday, Kimes singled out Love’s performance on ESPN’s NFL Live ahead of Monday Night Football, pointing to both the quarterback’s downfield work and the help he finally got up front.
Love was sharp throughout the win, completing 25 of 31 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns in what Kimes called a career defining performance. She said the Packers’ protection gave him room to operate, something that had been missing earlier in the season.
“He actually had a little time, which has been lacking thus far in the season. Some of that was slightly improved play from the offensive line. Some of it was Jordan Love buying time with pocket movement against pressure,” Kimes remarked during her appearance.
She also said Green Bay may have stumbled onto the shape of its offensive identity, with the game plan leaning heavily into play action and heavier personnel.
“But I also think the Packers found what I hope that will be their identity on offense. Most play action they’ve used in the entire season thus far. Over half of the game, they were in 12 or 13 personnel, multiple tight ends on the field,”
That approach seemed to open everything up for Love. Kimes noted that Chicago responded with its base defense, which gave Love a chance to attack vertically to Christian Watson and Matthew Golden. She praised the connection between the quarterback and those receivers, saying the Packers had been missing too much of that downfield damage.
“The Bears would match that by putting their base defense on the field, just four defensive backs. And Love said, ‘Cool, let’s go over the top because I’ve got two speedy wide receivers in Christian Watson and Matthew Golden,’ who’s gone so good tracking the football.
Jordan Love plus those two receivers. That’s one of the best deep ball throwing quarterbacks with deep ball receivers in the NFL.
It’s honestly been criminal to not see that happen because the pass protection over the last few weeks. It was good to see them find a way to buy him some time so that he could hit them downfield.”
The win also carried a little extra edge for Green Bay, which got a measure of revenge against the division rival that ended its postseason last year. After an uneven start to the season, the Packers finally put together a convincing performance that could help settle things down moving forward.
On the field, Green Bay was in control from the start. The Packers scored in every quarter and kept Chicago in check, with De’Andre Swift accounting for the Bears’ only touchdown.
Green Bay now stays at Lambeau Field for Week 6, where it will host the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 18.
The game is set for 8:20 p.m. ET.
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