Love Throws for 372 Yards as Packers Rout Patriots 45-27
FOXBOROUGH — Jordan Love threw for 372 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score as the Green Bay Packers rolled to a 45-27 win over the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, in a performance the quarterback himself said he could not remember bettering.
Love completed 23 of 29 passes with no interceptions and a 153.2 passer rating, and was replaced by backup Tyrod Taylor with nine minutes left and the result long settled. The Packers scored 21 points off four Patriots turnovers and finished with 478 yards of total offence, their biggest scoring and yardage day since a 45-point, 450-yard performance at Philadelphia on 11 November 1962.
Green Bay improved to 6-3 with a fifth win in six games. New England fell to 5-4 and lost its perfect home record, having entered Sunday 3-0 at Gillette Stadium.
“If Jordan Love has played a better game than he did on Sunday, he can’t remember it,” the Associated Press reported after the game.
Watson and Golden make history
Love’s two leading targets both set career highs and made franchise history in the same afternoon. Christian Watson caught seven passes for 171 yards and a touchdown, while Matthew Golden finished with 10 catches for 164 yards and a score. Together they caught 17 of the 18 passes thrown their way for 335 yards.
Watson and Golden became the first Packers teammates to record at least 150 receiving yards and a touchdown catch in the same game since Don Hutson and Andy Uram did it in 1942, according to ESPN Research.
Golden did most of his damage early, catching seven passes for 150 yards and a touchdown in the first half as Green Bay built a 24-14 lead at the break. Watson took over after half-time, with four catches for 109 yards and a touchdown in the second half, including a 39-yard score in the third quarter immediately after the Packers recovered a fumble by Rhamondre Stevenson.
Love’s longest touchdown pass of the day was that 39-yard strike to Watson. He also found Golden from five yards out in the first quarter and connected with Savion Williams for a 10-yard touchdown in the third. Love opened the scoring himself with a 13-yard rushing touchdown.
Turnovers decide it
The Patriots gave the ball away four times, and Green Bay made them pay on each occasion. Drake Maye was intercepted three times and finished 21 of 38 for 299 yards and three touchdowns, but the mistakes left New England chasing the game from early on.
The Packers built a 24-7 lead before half-time, and an 18-point third quarter put the result beyond doubt. Kaleb Johnson added a rushing touchdown, and kicker Trey Smack made three field goals, including a 51-yarder. Corey Kiner wrapped up the scoring with a four-yard touchdown run with 3:54 left.
The defeat spoiled a celebratory day in Foxborough. Tom Brady was back at the stadium as a broadcaster, and former tight end Rob Gronkowski was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame at half-time. The home crowd had little else to cheer, as Mike Vrabel’s side was outplayed from the opening drive.
What it means for both teams
For Green Bay, the win underlines a passing attack that is now among the league’s most explosive. Love has thrown for 372 yards in a game before, but rarely with this efficiency — six of his nine passes of 20 or more air yards went for 235 yards and a touchdown — and the Packers’ own recap noted that Watson and Golden continue to look like premier threats.
For New England, the four turnovers and a defence that allowed 478 yards raise questions heading into the second half of the season. Maye’s three interceptions were the most damaging, and the Patriots now sit at 5-4 in the AFC East with the trade deadline arriving on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Week 9
Elsewhere in Week 9, C.J. Stroud threw five touchdown passes as the Texans routed the winless Chargers 44-22, the Bengals beat the Falcons 34-17 in Madrid, and the Winnipeg Jets completed an overtime comeback against the Montreal Canadiens.
