After missing two games with a sprained MCL, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love returned to the field on Sunday for the team's Week 4 matchup against the division rival Minnesota Vikings. Love looked shaky early on, both physically and in his level of performance. But he got more and more comfortable as the game progressed, and he ended the afternoon having completed 32 of 54 passes for 389 yards, 4 touchdowns and 3 interceptions as he nearly led the Packers to a massive come-from-behind victory.
Following the game, Love spoke about how he dealt with the injury and how it's feeling at the moment.
"I hope it'll continue to heal and get better, but at this moment, yeah, it's definitely something that's there," Love said, via ESPN. "And it's one of those things, it's football. We play a physical sport and there's injuries, and you gotta fight through some stuff."
Love's coach, Matt LaFleur, noted the increased level of comfortability that Love displayed as the game wore on, and also detailed the difficulty of making plays against the Vikings' style of defense.
"It seemed to me that he looked more and more comfortable," LaFleur said of Love. "We made more explosive plays, which is tough to do when a team is sitting back in 2-shell. But I think there is a lot of good lessons that come out of every game."
Though the game ended in a loss for the Packers, it's probably a good sign for their fortunes the rest of the season. They are really the only offense to get anything going against the Vikes this year -- even in garbage time. And by the end of the afternoon, Love looked like the player we saw for much of last season. And that's what the Packers need him to be if they want to achieve the level of success they set out for at the start of the year.