Football <\/p>\n
GREEN BAY; Wis. \u2013 During training camp, Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich was asked if he\u2019d like to see his quarterback, Jordan Love, run more often.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
On Thursday night against the Washington Commanders, Love showed why he needs to unleash what should be a major weapon in his game.<\/p>\n
On third-and-9 in the first quarter, Love had clear sailing to the right. Standing between him and the first-down marker was cornerback Trey Amos. Love could have tried to elude Amos or dive for the first down. Instead, he made like Josh Jacobs, put down his right shoulder and plowed through Amos for a 14-yard run and a first down that set up the first touchdown of a 27-18 victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first, you start to take off and look to see if you can have a pass, anybody\u2019s working for a scramble-drill type thing, and then just felt that room,\u201d Love said on Wednesday. \u201cAs I took off and I could see the sticks on the sideline, knew I was going to be short. I saw the corner coming, so I knew I was going to have to try and lower my shoulder, try and make that play, get the first.\u201d<\/p>\n
And he did.<\/p>\n
For his efforts, he was anointed the winner of Kyle Brandt\u2019s Angry Run of the Week<\/u><\/a>, a major award<\/u><\/a> handed out by NFL Network.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, that was cool. That was cool,\u201d Love said. \u201cI never thought I\u2019d be winning something like that, Angry Runs, but it\u2019s cool.\u201d<\/p>\n Love might not be two-time MVP Lamar Jackson or even backup Malik Willis, but he\u2019s an excellent athlete at the position. His Relative Athletic Score was 8.46<\/u><\/a>. However, he\u2019s never taken full advantage of that skill, which is why Stenavich \u201cabsolutely\u201d wanted Love to run more often.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s a huge weapon and Jordan has that ability to make some big plays down the field, so we encourage that, for sure,\u201d Stenavich said.<\/p>\n In 2023 and 2024, Love\u2019s first two seasons as the starter, he ran the ball 75 times. That ranked 23rd over that span. Three players who were rookies in 2024 were among the players with more runs than Love. Heck, Love barely had more rushes than aging Aaron Rodgers had during\u00a0 his final two seasons in Green Bay.<\/p>\n Sure, last year\u2019s knee and groin injuries made Love more of a pocket passer and impacted the numbers, but Love was only 14th in runs when healthy in 2023.<\/p>\n Would Love have tried that play last season? Probably not, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one of those things, when you\u2019re playing, you\u2019re not thinking too much,\u201d Love said. \u201cYou\u2019re just going out there and playing free, playing fast and split-second decisions like that, you don\u2019t really have too much time to process my body\u2019s feeling a certain type of way, so I\u2019m always (going to) try and go out there and get that first, but who knows what I would\u2019ve been feeling last year.\u201d<\/p>\n Playing with an injured left thumb, Love has run the ball six times this season. Three of those were kneel-downs to end games, so he\u2019s really only had three true runs.<\/p>\n The 14-yarder against Washington was the sixth-longest of his career.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody said it was nice but don\u2019t do it again,\u201d Love said of his physical finish.<\/p>\n Coach Matt LaFleur was focused more on his play call than Love\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes you just got to do what you got to do,\u201d LaFleur said. \u201cObviously, that was a huge play, getting us down there and leading to a touchdown. Ideally, in a perfect world, you give him a better play for the coverage, so he does not have to do that, and you can get somebody open. \u2026<\/p>\n \u201cSo, that\u2019s one of the things that we\u2019ve talked about. The thing that I really liked that he did was he was really decisive when he decided to take off and go. There was no hesitation. And I think that\u2019s what you got to do, is when you recognize that your concept\u2019s not going to be great, can you pull the ball down and get what you can? And, you know, since he came out healthy, I feel really good about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Love only cared about the bottom-line result.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got the first. That\u2019s all that matters,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Since taking over as the starter, Love is tied for 21st among quarterbacks with 27 rushing first downs. Of those, 17 have come on third or fourth down, which is well behind Jalen Hurts (90) and Josh Allen (73) but not too far behind noted scramblers such as Bryce Young (23) and Kyler Murray (20).<\/p>\n \u201cOh, man, it\u2019s third down right there,\u201d Love said. \u201cI saw the sticks. I knew we only needed a couple more yards trying to pick it up, so I\u2019m a competitor. I\u2019m going to try and go out there and get it no matter who\u2019s out there.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s just one of those things, you always balance being smart, things like that, but it\u2019s football. I\u2019m a football player. I\u2019ve been doing this my whole life. I\u2019m not scared of a little contact.\u201d<\/p>\n Top-five quarterback? Here’s where you’ll find Jordan Love in the latest quarterback rankings. Big thanks to Fox Sports’ @henrycmckenna<\/a> for providing some additional insight. \u2b07\ufe0fhttps:\/\/t.co\/WoNhM3nRN2<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 18, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n