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Rob Demovsky
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Brett Favre won his lone Super Bowl at age 27 and in his sixth NFL season. Aaron Rodgers won his at the same age and at the same point in his NFL career.
Guess how old Jordan Love, the current Green Bay Packers quarterback, is?
And how many seasons he has played?
And for how many of those he has been the starter?
The correct answers: 27, six and three.
While there is no magic age or level of experience required to win a Super Bowl, Love appears to be in the same sweet spot as his predecessors.
Chicago Bears (11-6) at Soldier Field (8 p.m. ET, Prime Video) in the wild-card round as 1.5-point favorites, per DraftKings Sportsbook. With Love leading the Packers to the playoffs for the third time in as many seasons — winning only once — could he follow in the footsteps of Favre and Rodgers and lead the Packers to a Super Bowl championship?
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There was, however, one time when Favre made the walk of shame up the aisle without a summons to appear.
«He came up and just sat down next to me, and I [barked at] him, ‘What do you want?'» Holmgren recalled. «And he goes, ‘I get it, Mike. I get it.’
«I think that’s when we took off. I always believed in him, but then all of a sudden he realized that if I do these things, then I’ll take the next step.»
Before that, Holmgren and Favre had what the coach called, «The tough-love years.»
Some might forget that the Packers went 9-7 in each of Holmgren’s first three seasons as Packers coach, mostly with Favre at quarterback. Favre became the starter four games into Holmgren’s first year, 1992. The Packers lost to the Vikings in the regular-season finale to miss the playoffs that season. Favre threw three interceptions — all of them to the same player, safety Vencie Glenn.
In 1993, the Packers made the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade and beat the Lions in a wild-card game before losing to the Cowboys in the divisional round. Still, Favre threw more interceptions (24) than touchdowns (19) that season.
A third straight 9-7 season got them into the playoffs, where they won a wild-card game before getting trounced by the Cowboys again. Favre’s numbers flipped to 33 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 1994.
«Each year was a step,» Holmgren said.
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«I think he just really answered the bell,» McCarthy said recently. «He showed he could do it.»
Yet the Packers went 6-10 in large part because they couldn’t finish out close games. Still, the Packers gave Rodgers a six-year, $63 million contract extension after just seven starts that season.
In 2009, McCarthy opened up more of the offense to Rodgers, gave his quarterback the green light more often, and the Packers went 11-5.
While 2010 wasn’t Rodgers’ best statistical season, it turned into a magical run to win Super Bowl XLV, where he was the MVP. With two games to go, the Packers were 8-6, and Rodgers had just missed a game because of a concussion. The Packers needed to win their last two games — and get some help — to grab a wild-card playoff spot.
A year later, the Packers went 15-1 and Rodgers won the first of his four MVPs.
«In ’09, I felt like we just really came into our own as a football team the second year and really just cut him loose, frankly,» McCarthy said. «I thought the second half of ’09, he was the best player in football. Then we won it all in ’10, and in ’11 he won the MVP and officially became the best player in football.»
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«I see a much, much more confident quarterback. I got to see him play live four times this year, and I like him. I think there’s definitely more there.»
If the seventh-seeded Packers reach the Super Bowl, Love might have to play a major role. They were decimated by injuries. They ended the regular season with 15 players on injured reserve, including defensive end Micah Parsons, defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt, tight end Tucker Kraft and center Elgton Jenkins.
«I just think he’s doing some absurd things,» Parsons said of Love. «I think his confidence, the throws he’s making, the ability to stand under pressure, he’s doing some things that guys aren’t doing in Year 9 and 10.
«I think he’s progressed early on, and it could be because of the guy he was under for so long [Rodgers]. He has this confidence and swagger about him, and the way he carries himself, I think he’s just going to keep getting better and better.»
If it doesn’t happen this year, that doesn’t mean it won’t ever happen. But with LaFleur entering the final year of his contract this offseason and his status potentially up in the air, Holmgren believes there is one thing that could impact it.
«If Love can stay with the same system and same coach for a while, that helps,» Holmgren said. «That really helps. LaFleur and those guys there right now are doing a good job. They’re consistent, they’ve been there a while. So he’s in a good spot.»
