Matt LaFleur Can Make Jordan Love's Life A Little Easier

The Green Bay Packers escaped from LA with a win in a game that came down to the wire.

Down two of their top two receivers, Jordan Love and the passing attack struggled in the first half before finding a rhythm in the second thanks to a more balanced approach and Love settling in.

Myriad factors have led to the Packers being an explosive offense that often struggles on a down-by-down basis. After not playing through most of the preseason and missing two games with a knee injury, Love has been shaking off the rust and has taken some time to settle in during games.

Matt LaFleur's best game plans were with backup quarterback Malik Willis under center. To relieve some of Love's burden and get the offensive machine humming earlier, the Packers need to use the lessons they learned under Willis, including a more balanced offensive approach.

For the second week in a row, the Packers were a different team between the first and second half.

The Los Angeles Rams' secondary might not be the stoutest. Still, Love was down two receivers, with Christian Watson dealing with an injury and Romeo Doubs suspended. While Josh Jacobs scored first blood with a rushing touchdown, the Packers focused more on the passing game to mixed results.

Love had an incredible deep throw to Jayden Reed in the first quarter, but it could have easily ended in disaster. Drops have plagued the wide receivers the past two weeks, but Love's accuracy has also been spotty. The team did not convert a third down until the second half of the game. Worst of all, Love had one of his worst plays when he tried to get rid of the ball to avoid a potential safety and ended up gifting the Rams with a pick-six.

But after the pick-six, Love was spectacular, completing his next seven passes and for two touchdowns.

What changed?

The Packers relied on a more balanced approach, better using the run game and getting Tucker Kraft more involved in the passing game. Josh Jacobs turned nothing into something multiple times to help the Packers advance down the field. Kraft's yards-after-the-catch ability let him make big plays regardless of where Love targeted him, taking some of the burden off Love and the receivers. The Packers also had better rhythm with a no-huddle approach.

Under Willis, LaFleur revamped his usual game plan to play to Willis' strengths, minimize the risks he needed, and prioritize a powerful rushing attack to take advantage of their opponent's weaknesses. That led to the Packers winning both games under their backup quarterback -- no small feat.

While Love can do more, it's worth returning to some of those philosophies to make the offense's life easier. Signing Jacobs was one of the team's big off-season moves, and they leaned heavily on him with Willis under center. You don't get to face the Indianapolis Colts' run defense every day. Still, the game plan can run better through Jacobs, including involving him more in the passing game.

LaFleur can also get the tight ends more involved, as we saw in Sunday's second half. Kraft started getting hype this season as a brutal blocker. However, he's become one of the biggest threats in the passing game thanks to his YAC ability and desire to strike fear into anyone who opposes him.

While Kraft's legend has grown, fellow second-year tight end Luke Musgrave has been an afterthought. But embracing a more balanced attack can better use Musgrave's strengths to move the ball consistently. Musgrave is extremely athletic with a big catch radius, so it's surprising he hasn't been used more for checkdowns or in the red zone.

When you pay a quarterback Scrooge McDuck-level money, you expect him to carry the offense. How often have we seen Aaron Rodgers drag the Packers kicking and screaming through the playoffs?

Love hasn't quite lived up to the lofty and probably unrealistic standard set by his predecessor. He's dealing with the aftermath of a painful knee injury and shouldering more responsibility than ever. These are new challenges for Love, and he's responded with incredible resiliency.

"Bad plays happen, good plays happen. How do we respond?" Love said following the victory. "Even going back to last year and this year in the start, we proved we’re going to keep fighting and just keep going. Trusting the guys and keep fighting for each other.”

It's not all talk, as evidenced by his second-half heroics the past two weeks.

You'd like to see Love come out swinging and show why he's worth every penny of that contract. But winning games is more important than ego. Better utilizing the run and short-passing game can help Love get into a rhythm earlier in the game.

The big plays are there, and Love's talent is apparent. But despite the explosive plays, the Packers need to be better on a play-by-play basis and in the red zone. Matt LaFleur called some of his best games with Willis as the starter. Even with Love back, it's worth using some of those concepts to create a more balanced and consistent attack.