Love reliving playoff loss to 49ers ahead of Sunday's rematch

GREEN BAY, Wis. — It’s not that Jordan Love obsessed over the NFC divisional playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers this offseason, but he did have all spring and summer to think about it.

Now that the 49ers are next up on the schedule this Sunday at Lambeau Field (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox), the Green Bay Packers‘ quarterback was made to relive it one more time.

The topic of that last-minute, 24-21 loss dominated Love’s 15-minute session with reporters on Wednesday.

“I think just ending the season, getting into the playoffs and being knocked out by the 49ers — whoever it would have been — that game is definitely going to sit with you,” Love said Wednesday. “That’s what you’ve got to kind of just sit with all offseason, is going back, watching that game, trying to see what you could have done better, could have done differently in that game.

“It definitely sits with you through the offseason, and then you obviously move on. Just knowing that that’s the team that knocked us out, we’re definitely hungry for this game.”

Love said he watched the film from that game three times in the offseason. While that wasn’t necessarily any more thorough of a review than of any other game from his first season as the starter, there were valuable lessons to be learned — some of which could apply Sunday — and others that have made a more lasting impression.

“Obviously, two turnovers in that game, critical mistakes, the final two-minute drive situation to go win, and having a turnover,” Love said as he listed off the things that stuck with him. “So just learning from that situation, put myself back in that situation, what would I have done differently? How do I grow from that? Things like that.”

The second of Love’s interceptions sealed the game and the Packers’ season. On first down from his 36-yard line with 52 seconds to go, Love rolled to his right, threw off his back foot across his body over the middle of the field, where linebacker Dre Greenlaw picked it off. In the third quarter, Greenlaw also picked off Love, who threw high and behind tight end Tucker Kraft.

Interceptions have continued to plague Love this season, although he said he finally feels as healthy as he did before his Week 1 knee injury (and his Week 8 groin injury). He has 11 on the season, matching his total from 2023, and his eight-game streak with at least one interception is tied for the second-longest streak to begin a season by any quarterback over the past 10 seasons, according to ESPN Research.

Fortunately for Love, Greenlaw won’t be on the field Sunday because he remains out while recovering from the torn Achilles he sustained in the Super Bowl.

And perhaps also fortunately for Love, this is a regular-season game. Packers coach Matt LaFleur has won two of the three regular-season meetings with the 49ers, but his close friend and mentor Kyle Shanahan has knocked Green Bay out of the playoffs three times in four playoff appearances against LaFleur.

None of that, however, matters to LaFleur.

“I think you’ve just got to rely on what you see on tape and, you know, try to find holes in whatever — whether it’s on offense, defense or special teams — and try to attack the perceived weaknesses, which there’s not many on this football team,” LaFleur said.

“They’ve got a lot of good players. I think their scheme — it doesn’t matter what phase of the game — I think it’s really sound. And I think there’s a lot of good, lot of great, coaches over there and great players. So it’s tough to go against.”