They say big-time quarterbacks are essential to winning big-time games. For years, we’ve watched the usual suspects—Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson—rise to the occasion when it mattered most. In Green Bay, Jordan Love looked like he was about to join that same echelon. Over the second half of his first season as a starter, he was simply spectacular. The optimism around his potential was palpable, and a bright future for the Packers seemed all but inevitable.

But then came the 2024 season, and reality tempered the hype. Yes, Love guided the Packers to the playoffs—no small feat—but his performance regressed. His overall grade, which ranked 7th in 2023, fell to 18th in 2024. Suddenly, the same voices that were so bullish on his trajectory began to wonder if he could truly elevate this franchise.

The 2025 season now looms as a pivotal crossroads for Love, and time is running out for him to prove he belongs among the NFL’s elite. And just like that, the sixth-year quarterback found himself on the list of top-five Packers who must rebound in 2025. Bill Huber, the Packers’ publisher on Sports Illustrated, recently pointed out that Love is one of the top five Packers’ players who need to bounce back in the 2025 season. And it makes sense.

If we dive deep into his 2024 season, then no doubt, the quarterback’s yards per attempt soared from 7.2 to 8.0. But it’s not all glitz and glory. Jordan Love threw 154 passes in the last season, given that he missed out on a couple of games due to an injury. But there’s a wrinkle. He still threw 12 interceptions, the same number he recorded a year before. And yes, his completion percentage also dropped from 64.2 to 63.1.

All in all, Jordan had a great start as the QB1 of the Packers, no doubt. But his performance slightly—if not completely—regressed in the last year. The head coach, Matt LaFleur, has shown confidence in his quarterback after the minicamp, stating, “I feel pretty confident that we know what we have in Jordan, and we got a lot of confidence in him.”

And to spice things up, Green Bay offered him a massive $220 million, four-year extension just past July. Considering his last season and the high expectations from the team, Jordan Love has no excuse but to rebound in the 2025 season. He has a job to do now: lead the Packers to the Super Bowl, improve performance, and join the elite quarterback list.

The head coach, on the other hand, seems to be on the same boat as well.

Like Jordan Love, it’s a prove-it year for Matt LaFleur as well

Matt LaFleur, entering the 2025 season, still has a couple of years left on his multi-year contract with the Packers. While some might argue that it’s time for the head coach to get a new deal, the Packers’ incoming new President, Ed Policy, isn’t on board with this. Policy is in no rush to extend LaFleur’s contract (count the general manager, Brian Gutekunst, in as well).

“All three of them [are] under multi-year contracts,” Policy said, addressing LaFleur, Gutekunst, and executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball. “None of them are up at the end of this year. We won’t be doing anything going into this season.” Though Policy believes that LaFleur will continue to perform at a high level, that’s not enough to guarantee the head coach’s longevity with the team.

“At the end of the day, we are here to win football games, so it does start with that,” Policy added. “But coaches are fundamentally teachers, I think. They develop people, so you evaluate them on how they’re developing people.” Translation? Well, LaFleur’s future in Green Bay is secure for now. But his fate will depend on the 2025 season. And why not?

After LaFleur took the helm as the head coach, the Packers went on to have a 67-33 record. But the Postseason? That’s where things went south. We’re talking about a 3-5 record across five postseason trips under LaFleur’s coaching. To worsen it, Jordan Love was supposed to develop in his second year as a QB1. But nope. A slight regression in his 2024 season poured gasoline on the fire.

Safe to say, to secure his future with the team and to snag another multi-year contract extension, LaFleur will need to keep winning and develop his players.