Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love suffered a scary setback during the Week 16 matchup against the Chicago Bears. In the second quarter, Love took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Bears defensive end Austin Booker. The incident forced Love to exit the game and left Packers’ fans worried. Shortly after, a well-known sports doctor shared a troubling outlook on Love’s injury. 

“#JordanLove @packers With this head hit, seems unlikely to clear concussion protocol given the blow and outward signs,” Dr. David J. Chao wrote in his recent X post. “Final call based on exam but enough here that return is a high bar.”

Initially, the Packers listed Jordan Love as questionable to return. However, shortly after Dr. Chao’s assessment, reports confirmed that head coach Matt LaFleur officially ruled Love out for the remainder of the game. It signaled that Love’s injury was serious enough to warrant caution.

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The 27-year-old QB was injured during a play at the 8:18 mark of the second quarter of the Week 16 game. Love dropped back from the line of scrimmage and looked downfield to throw during the play. But soon enough, Austin Booker lowered his head and made direct helmet-to-helmet contact with Love. That hit knocked the QB to the ground immediately, and officials threw a flag on the play.

The force of the collision further caused Jordan Love’s head to bounce off the turf, and that only intensified concerns on the field. He remained down for several minutes as the Packers’ medical staff rushed out to evaluate him. Meanwhile, Booker received a 15-yard penalty for the illegal hit, underscoring the severity of the contact.

Although Jordan Love then eventually got up and jogged off the field under his own power, he appeared visibly shaken. He first entered the blue medical tent. Then, minutes later, he walked to the locker room without his helmet for further evaluation, specifically to check for a concussion.

With the starting QB sidelined, Matt LaFleur turned to backup QB Malik Willis. Willis had previously started two games for Green Bay in 2024 while Love was out with a knee injury. So, the situation wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to Willis. As such, he showed some composure during the game as he completed 9 of 11 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown. However, some of his mistakes proved costly. 

In overtime, Willis failed to handle a snap on fourth down, resulting in a turnover on downs. The Bears then took possession at Green Bay’s 36-yard line and capitalized a few plays later, scoring the game-winning touchdown to secure a 22-16 victory.

How does Jordan Love’s injury now affect the Packers?

In a game with real divisional weight, Jordan Love’s injury clearly altered the flow of Green Bay’s offense. Just two weeks earlier, Green Bay had beaten Chicago 28-21 at Lambeau Field, with Love throwing three touchdown passes. Even before exiting in Week 16, he completed 8 of 13 passes for 77 yards and had the offense moving.

Then Willis brought a different dynamic for the Packers as he relies more on mobility than passing volume. His career stats before the Week 16 game include 913 yards for 4 touchdowns and three interceptions. While he had won his first two starts in a Packers uniform last season, this third opportunity without Love ended differently, and painfully. 

Meanwhile, before the injury, Jordan Love had already put together a strong season. Before the Week 16 game, he had already amassed 3,304 yards, 23 touchdowns for just six interceptions this season. His performance played a major role in Green Bay’s 9-4-1 record. But now, Love is officially in concussion protocol. And this comes after the Packers already lost their star linebacker Micah Parsons to a torn ACL this season. 

Moreover, the loss this week saw the Packers slip from first place in the NFC North in the absence of their starting QB. So, fans will hope that Jordan Love can come back sooner. But concussion recovery has no set timeline. Besides, Love must also clear every medical step before taking the field again. As such, his availability in the Saturday night matchup against the Baltimore Ravens next week remains uncertain. So, for now, the Packers can only wait and hope that their starting QB recovers in time to stabilize the season.