LaFleur says the Packers are likely to see Jordan Love more preseason action

Love was instrumental in his series-opening exhibition against the Bengals, completing 7 of 10 passes for 46 yards and a touchdown in the Packers’ 36-19 win at Paycor Stadium.

He spread the ball around five receivers, including a pair to new No. 1 prospect Romeo Dobbs: one on a contested 9-yard fade for a touchdown and his tallest completion in the form of a 12-yard crossover.

Love wasn’t pressured even with All Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari getting the night off. He completed four of the five game throws.

But two throws—his two longest attempts—left him and coach Matt Lafleur wanting more.

Love’s only deep shot, a route by speedster Christian Watson down the right sideline on the opening drive, reached in stride, but Bengals safety Dax Hill had just enough time to close the gap as the ball sailed through the air and broke it. On the next play, Love simply knocked out a wide open rookie, Luke Musgrave for what would have been a sure first but instead resulted in a punt.

“It was the kind of thing I wish I could get back at, that throws Luke right in the middle,” Love said. “Man, I just missed him. That’s an easy throw, a routine throw. I couldn’t get it off. But other than that, I thought we played pretty well. I thought every pass was paced. Obviously, we got one on the sideline for Christian.” Where safety played a really good role.”

Lafleur said he didn’t think Love put too much air on Watson’s deep ball. In fact, he urged the quarterback to do it on deep balls. But he could use his eyes to freeze Hill in the middle of the field a second longer, something his predecessor Aaron Rodgers perfected.

“It looked like an accurate ball, but what can he do to keep that safety just one more step so he can’t play on the ball?” LaFleur said.

That kind of nuance will take time, which may be why LaFleur wants Love to play at least one more time in the preseason.

“I expect him to play more, too,” said Lafleur. Whether it’s next week or whether it’s versus Seattle [in the preseason finale]We’ll kind of see how the week goes, see how the practices go. We’ve got two big practices coming up against New England that’ll be really good for him, and we’ll play him by the ears.”

While love was the focus of the night, debutant Emanuel Wilson became the night’s feel-good story.

An undrafted free agent from Fort Valley State Beginning training camp as the Packers’ No. 6 player, Wilson rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns, including an 80-yard catch, on just six carries. And he did it on the fourteenth anniversary of his father’s death.

“All week, I was really like, ‘Dang, I’m really playing the day my dad died,'” Wilson said. “It’s also such a blessing to be out there and do what I need to.”

The emotions that ran through Wilson’s night got to the Packers running back.

“I know what he went through,” said Jones, whose father passed away in 2021. “He and I had talked about it previously, and so I knew the night was special for him and after his first game. [touchdown]I just told him, “Hey, this was for your pops. He’s here. He’s watching. He’s got the best seat in the house.”

“And I was like, ‘Go do it again,’ and he kept having a night. You can’t help but think his dad was there on the field with him, so I guess that was very special and I can relate.”