Locals in the NFL: Jordan Love lives, learns, moves on to game-winning drive with Packers

AROUND THE SHIELD — Jordan Love made his share of good throws, and plenty that he'll want back, for the Green Bay Packers in Sunday's tight game against the Houston Texans.

But when the former Utah State starting quarterback took over down 22-21 with just under two minutes remaining, he refused to panic.

A younger Love might have. A younger Love probably did.

But Love has learned from those moments in his second season as a full-time starter. In particular, he was happy with one key adjustment.

"It came down to us," said Love, who completed 24-of-33 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. "We knew what it was; just go win the game.

"That's one of the biggest areas we tried to improve on from last year," he added of the Packers' drives inside of the two minutes. "We came up short too many times in these two-minute drill situations. It's definitely been something that we focused on."

Whatever changed, or however he learned, Love did what he had to do in guiding Green Bay 44 yards in eight plays to set up new kicker Brandon McManus for a 45-yard field goal that helped the Packers walk off with a win and a 5-2 start to the season.

Love threw ridiculous touchdown passes to Tucker Kraft and Dontayvion Wicks, and also added a game-high eight passes for 94 yards to Romeo Doubs.

But the Packers trailed 19-14 at halftime, and a pair of interceptions didn't help.

"It was all right," Love said when asked to critique his game. "I definitely want to be able to limit those mistakes, the interceptions, just do better taking care of the ball. I definitely want to clean that up. … That definitely hurt me, but you've got to bounce back."

Sunday's game was also his ninth consecutive game with at least two touchdown passes, putting the young signal caller in fairly exclusive company.

At 25 years and 353 days, Love is the fourth quarterback age 25 or younger with at least two passing touchdowns in nine consecutive games or more. The others? Patrick Mahomes, Brett Favre and Dan Marino.

Live and learn, but Love's future may be as bright as his present.

Here's a look at how other former Utah high school and college football standouts performed in Week 7 of the 2024 NFL regular season.

Monday Night Football

Baltimore vs. Tampa Bay

Ravens (4-2)

• Kyle Van Noy, LB, BYU
• Marcus Williams, S, Utah

Buccaneers (4-2)

• No locals on the active roster

Los Angeles vs. Arizona

Chargers (3-2)

• Simi Fehoko, WR, Brighton (via Stanford)
• Alohi Gilman, S, Orem (via Notre Dame)

Cardinals (2-4)

• Khyiris Tonga, DT, BYU/Granger

Sunday Night Football

Pittsburgh 37, New York 15

Steelers (5-2)

• Jaylen Warren, RB, Utah State/Snow/East (via Oklahoma State): Reserve running back ran for 44 yards on 12 carries, caught two passes for 15 yards
• Miles Killebrew, S, Southern Utah: Reserve safety also played on special teams

Jets (2-5)

• No locals on the active roster

Sunday afternoon

Jacksonville 32, New England 16

Jaguars (2-5)

• Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah: Starting linebacker had a team-high 11 tackles and a sack on defense

Patriots (1-6)

• No locals on the active roster

Seattle 34, Atlanta 14

Seahawks (4-3)

• Sataoa Laumea, OG, Utah: Inactive for Week 7

Falcons (4-3)

• Tyler Allgeier, RB, BYU: Reserve running back ran for 36 yards on five carries, caught one pass for 9 yards on offense
• Clark Phillips III, CB, Utah: Reserve cornerback made one tackle on defense
• Kaden Elliss, LB, Judge Memorial (via Idaho): Starting linebacker had team-high nine tackles and two quarterback hits on defense

Buffalo 34, Tennessee 10

Bills (5-2)

• Cole Bishop, S, Utah: Reserve safety made one tackle on special teams
• Dalton Kincaid, TE, Utah: Reserve tight end caught three passes for 52 yards with a fumble
• Taron Johnson, CB, Weber State: Starting cornerback totaled seven tackles and a pass defended on defense

Titans (1-5)

• No locals on the active roster

Cincinnati 21, Cleveland 14

Bengals (3-4)

• Ryan Rehkow, P, BYU: Punted eight times for 354 yards (44.3 yards per punt) with four punts downed inside the 20
• Zack Moss, RB, Utah: Reserve running back ran for 7 yards on six carries, caught three passes for 33 yards
• Tanner McLachlan, TE, Southern Utah (via Arizona): Inactive for Week 7
• Jay Tufele, DT, Bingham (via USC): Inactive for Week 7

Browns (1-6)

• Mohamoud Diabate, LB, Utah: Reserve linebacker had three tackles on defense with a tackle for loss, and one tackle on special teams

Green Bay 24, Houston 22

Packers (5-2)

• Jordan Love, QB, Utah State: Starting quarterback completed 24-of-33 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions and three sacks taken
• Zayne Anderson, S, BYU/Stansbury: Reserve safety made one tackle on special teams

Texans (5-2)

• Dalton Schultz, TE, Bingham (via Stanford): Reserve tight end caught one pass for 28 yards

Indianapolis 16, Miami 10

Colts (4-3)

• Blake Freeland, OT, BYU/Herriman: Reserve tackle also played on special teams
• Julian Blackmon, S, Utah/Layton: Starting safety made nine tackles
• Matt Gay, K, Utah/UVU/Orem: Kicked field goals of 52, 22 and 38 yards and one extra point

Dolphins (2-4)

• Tyler Huntley, QB, Utah: Starting quarterback completed 7-of-13 passes for 87 yards with a touchdown and two sacks taken, and ran for 20 yards on five carries

Detroit 31, Minnesota 29

Lions (5-1)

• Sione Vaki, RB, Utah: Reserve running back made one tackle on special teams
• Penei Sewell, OT, Desert Hills (via Oregon): Starting right tackle also played on special teams
• Tim Patrick, WR, Utah: Starting wide receiver caught two passes for 25 yards

Vikings (5-1)

• Taki Taimani, DT, East (via Oregon): Reserve defensive lineman also played on special teams

Philadelphia 28, New York 3

Eagles (4-2)

• Britain Covey, WR/RS, Utah/Timpview: Inactive for Week 7

Giants (2-5)

• No locals on the active roster

Los Angeles 20, Las Vegas 15

Rams (2-4)

• Jonah Williams, DE, Weber State: Inactive for Week 7

Raiders (2-5)

• Andre James, OC, Herriman (via UCLA): Starting center also played on special teams
• Jackson Powers-Johnson, OG, Corner Canyon (via Oregon): Starting left guard also played on special teams

Washington 40, Carolina 7

Commanders (5-2)

• Michael Davis, CB, BYU: Reserve cornerback made one tackle on special teams
• Bobby Wagner, LB, Utah State: Starting linebacker totaled six tackles on defense

Panthers (1-6)

• Brady Christensen, OL, BYU/Bountiful: Starting center also played on special teams

Kansas City 28, San Francisco 18

Chiefs (5-0)

• Kingsley Suamataia, OT, BYU/Orem: Reserve tackle also played on special teams

49ers (3-3)

• Fred Warner, LB, BYU: Starting linebacker had eight tackles on defense
• Mitch Wishnowsky, P, Utah: Punted four times for 193 yards (48.3 yards per punt) with three punts downed inside the 20

Thursday Night Football

Denver 33, New Orleans 10

Broncos (4-3)

• Zach Wilson, QB, BYU/Corner Canyon: Inactive for Week 7
• Cody Barton, LB, Utah/Brighton: Starting linebacker had eight tackles, a sack, a pass defended and returned a fumble 54 yards for a touchdown
• Garett Bolles, OT, Utah/Snow/Westlake: Starting left tackle played 63 snaps on offense and seven on special teams
• Jonah Elliss, LB, Utah: Reserve linebacker had two tackles, shared a sack and added a quarterback hit on defense
• Devaughn Vele, WR, Utah: Starting receiver caught one pass for 20 yards on offense

Saints (2-5)

• Taysom Hill, TE, BYU: Inactive for Week 7
• Dallin Holker, TE, BYU/Lehi (via Colorado State): Reserve tight end play three snaps on offense, two on special teams
• Jamaal Williams, RB, BYU: Reserve running back ran for 17 yards on three carries in 12 snaps on offense, six on special teams
• Rashid Shaheed, WR/RS, Weber State: Placed on injured-reserve with season-ending injury

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