You may have heard this before. Sacks are not an offensive line stat. It's a quarterback stat. I'm a proponent of that statement, and Jordan Love probably is, too.
He has been pressured on 52 dropbacks this season but only been sacked four times. So he takes a sack on less than eight percent of his pressures, the lowest rate by any quarterback in eight seasons of PFF tracking.
Lowest sack per pressure rate in last eight seasons
2024 Jordan Love | 7.7% |
2017 Philip Rivers | 8.1% |
2018 Andrew Luck | 9.0% |
2019 Jared Goff | 9.2% |
2020 Patrick Mahomes | 9.9% |
Sure, Love's play under pressure, his off-platform throws and creative arm angles are a big part of his star appeal. But, his prolific sack avoidance is part of the package during this hot streak, too.
He turned a corner after the Packers' 3-6 start last year. He leads the NFL in touchdown passes (30) and has the lowest sack rate in the league (3.4%) since that slow start, which amounts to his last 12 games.
Jordan Love last two seasons
| First Nine Games | Last 12 Games | |
|---|---|---|
W-L | 3-6 | 8-4 |
TD-INT | 14-10 | 30-7 |
Sack pct | 6.0% | 3.4% |
He ranks top five in EPA per play and yards per dropback when pressured in that span, a big improvement for the numbers he put up early last year.
This was more of a heave to Romeo Doubs last week, but it turned out a lot better than a sack.
I'd be lying if I told you avoiding sacks was always a good outcome. This throw will go down in the blooper reel.
It would be easy to chalk up the low sack rate to exceptional offensive line play, but that hasn't been the case. Love has actually been pressured more often during his hot streak, and sacked less. Again, good for the lowest sack per pressure rate in the NFL.
The Packers also rank 13th in pass block win rate this year (per ESPN/NFL Next Gen Stats). They are collectively holding their blocks for 2.5 seconds at a league average rate, so it would stand to reason that Love would be getting sacked at a league average rate. That obviously hasn't been the case.
Jordan Love ranks when pressured in last two seasons
| First Nine Games | Last 12 Games | |
|---|---|---|
Pressure rate | 3rd | 10th |
EPA per play | 18th | 4th |
Yards per dropback | 17th | 2nd |
Sack per pressure rate | 15th | 1st |
There's definitely some polish Love can still add to his game. For example, he has the fourth-lowest CPOE (comp pct over expected) this year (-7.1%). The accuracy can be a problem. But he makes up for it, and then some, with elite off-schedule playmaking, plus avoiding negative plays (like sacks).
He'll face a tough test vs. the Texans this weekend. It'll be a strength-vs-strength matchup as Houston has the fourth-best pass rush win rate in the league with two studs off the edge in Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter.
Let's see if they can go where few pass rushers have gone this year, converting pressures into sacks on Jordan Love.