Take a bow, Brian Gutekunst
Jordan Love shines against Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is how you go about finding your quarterback and building a team.
The silence must’ve been so sweet for the man who rocked the sports world in the middle of a pandemic. On April 23, 2020, Brian Gutekunst selected quarterback Jordan Love. His words were very simple that night. He said this was the best move for the Green Bay Packers.
“Down the road,” the GM continued, “he certainly has all the ability to be a difference-maker at that position, but these things take time. Especially at that position.”
The decision was universally impaled by all viewers and prompted the team’s current starter to sip tequila in shock. Of course, the next offseason, Aaron Rodgers then tried to win a power struggle vs. Gutekunst and president Mark Murphy refused to fire his GM because — love it, hate it — the Green Bay Packers forever operate as an organization larger than any individual player. A reality driven home by one Hall of Famer on the team’s board of directors. “That G,” LeRoy Butler told us, “will never change.”
On Sunday night, the GM received his greatest vindication yet.
Love and Rodgers took the same football field and… there was zero resemblance between the two. They might’ve shared a quarterback room for three years but — this night? — the former teammates played like species from different planets. Love shredded the Pittsburgh Steelers’ slapdash defense for 360 yards and three touchdowns. He was his usual calm self. Emotionless. Rodgers played like a 41-year-old quarterback. He’s stiffer, slower, predictably winding down while still making a point to chastise teammates.
Start to finish, NBC’s broadcast team curiously left out the most important plot point to this matchup. Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth glossed right over the ugliness. Both treated a horror show of a break-up as if it was an episode of Barney, as if the Rodgers and Gutekunst held hands and gleefully parted ways. The GM was rendered a footnote in the narration of this game to millions of viewers. I don’t recall cameras even panning to him up in the box.
All of which must be fine by him. After so much noise, so much needless BS, such tranquility is a beautiful thing. Many of those Packers fans filling Acrisure Stadium with chants of “Go Pack Go!” — forcing Rodgers to do a silent count at home — no doubt wanted the GM canned in ‘20 and/or ‘21.
Green Bay slugged Pittsburgh, 35-25.
Winner of the night? Brian Gutekunst.
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All action on the field was a thing of a beauty. Matt LaFleur finally cut Love loose in the second half and he completed 20 passes in a row.
The bigger story is the bigger picture.
Sunday night was a study in two very different ways to build an NFL team. The franchise that planned ahead — unafraid to piss off their Canton-bound legend — flexed its muscles as a legitimate Super Bowl contender in 2025… 2026… 2027… as long as Love is the quarterback. The franchise that chose to operate in tunnel vision — clutching to their Canton-bound legend too long — is again trying to jigsaw a contender together with pieces that do not fit. Rodgers is better than most of us skeptics expected. He still hasn’t been a top 15 quarterback since 2021. This $163 million defense cannot compensate for his natural aging. It’s probably Mike Tomlin’s worst defense in 19 years as head coach.
Pittsburgh sits atop the AFC North at 4-3 and, yet, they’re objectively stuck in neutral.
We’ve applauded the Tomlin ethos.
He gets his players to fight.
For years, his Steelers have been winning on blocked punts, obscure rules, punishing physicality on the line of scrimmage, punch-out fumbles. All in all, a hearty dose of grime. I spent a good amount of time around the Steelers in 2019 after Ben Roethlisberger was lost for the season with an elbow injury in Week 2. Step inside this locker room and the ecosystem is starkly different than anything in the NFL. Long gone were Big Ben, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown that fall. One QB replacement was assaulted by Myles Garrett on the field. One assistant coach died in training camp. Devlin “Duck” Hodges, a fourth-stringer, played in eight games.
Against all convention, the Steelers managed to stay in the playoff hunt until the regular-season finale. They traded a first-round pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick at 1-4 and soldiered on.
Fighting like crazy in the present unfortunately clouds this team’s future.
Pittsburgh didn’t need to rev up the tanks off South Water Street. But a little more scouting foresight would’ve helped. An all-time quarterback class awaited in the 2020 draft. Even beyond the top three (Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Tua Tagovailoa) were Utah State’s Jordan Love and Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts. In retrospect, keeping that first-round pick would’ve been wise. They weren’t even thinking about drafting quarterbacks early with Roethlisberger on the roster. Chase Claypool was the choice in Round 2 over Hurts.
Two years prior, in ’18, Lamar Jackson fell… and fell… and fell right to them at No. 28 overall. Pittsburgh selected safety Terrell Edmunds.
Roethlisberger aged. Fast. By the time he retired, the Steelers took the first quarterback in a historically bad class and saddled him with the worst offensive coordinator in the NFL. Kenny Pickett and Matt Canada were jettisoned. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields swiftly ran their course in one season. Rodgers will now do the same, then it’s back to the drawing board once again in 2026.
This is what can happen when a head coach has final say. Tomlin’s strength is his blind spot. He’s wired to operate one game, one day, one drill at a time. He’ll win games he has no business winning. These Steelers had another one of those triumphs this season in Foxborough, forcing five turnovers.
And in the process, this organization loses the plot.
When general managers have the final say, they’re often able to make the uncomfortable — and correct — decision on draft day. The Love pick was famously all Gutekunst.
The GM has not been perfect. His miscalculation at cornerback could haunt. Keisean Nixon struggled this night. But Gutekunst has this team atop the NFC at 5-1-1 and so many of his masterstrokes graced that JV-quality turf in Pittsburgh.
His big swing. Pittsburgh doled out the contracts over the offseason, and so did Green Bay in paying $46.5 million annually for Micah Parsons. Once again, Parsons changed the gravity of the field. Teams block him 1 on 1 at their own peril and he’s been creating opportunities for others. Rashan Gary sacked Rodgers twice. It’s gotten to the point where Parsons is hooked and grabbed and bear-hugged by offensive linemen half the tie. You simply don’t know if officials will call it or not.
Value the TE. In ’23, Gutekunst drafted a raw tight end out of Oregon State (Luke Musgrave) 42nd overall and then took an accomplished tight end out of South Dakota State 78th overall (Tucker Kraft). Rodgers never relied heavily on this position, but his QB equals have. Peyton Manning is the first to credit Dallas Clark as the weapon who shifted his Colts offense into historic overdrive. Drew Brees was at his best gunning passes deep to Jimmy Graham. And obviously Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are an all-time duo. By doubling up, Gutekunst increased his odds of hitting the jackpot.
Kraft was an animal against the Steelers in catching seven passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns.
One 59-yard play broke this game open.
Pittsburgh led 16-7 in the third quarter when six rushers collapsed the pocket on third and 5.
Linebacker Patrick Queen blasted through running back Josh Jacobs and drilled Love as the quarterback launched a bomb to Kraft. A catch and run that reminded me of something Manning said about Clark for “Blood and Guts” (Heyo!) It got to the point where Manning could’ve thrown certain balls to Clark with his eyes closed because he knew exactly how the tight end was going to run his routes. Endless reps in April and May and June and August pay off. Love’s gaining similar trust with Kraft.
Musgrave hasn’t panned out. But much like Ron Wolf going CB-CB-CB in 1999 — nailing the Mike McKenzie pick — Gutekunst hedged his bets at a position of need and hit the bull’s eye.
The Watson Gamble. After trading Davante Adams, the GM tripled up in the draft at wide receiver. And while he’s had trouble staying healthy, this game highlighted exactly how Christian Watson changes the complexion of the offense. He caught four balls for 85 yards and paved the way for Jacobs’ TD with a pancake block. Sure, this was a prospect out of North Dakota State. Gutekunst was drawn to Watson’s collection of traits: 6 foot 4, 208 pounds, 4.32 speed, 38 Wonderlic. Now that he’s healthy? Now that he’s got a quarterback operating at an elite level? We’re likely about to see the very best of Watson.
The hammer. Ted Thompson always knew it was better to bid farewell to a player a season too early than hang on a season too late, and so does his successor. Aaron Jones was beloved and Aaron Jones can still play. But Jacobs, two years younger, has injected this offense with a more physical presence.
Street free agency. Back to signing guys like De’Vondre Campbell and Rasul Douglas, this GM thrifts for gems in the bargain bin. One team’s trash is often his treasure. Another success story bubbled to the surface in Pittsburgh. Emanuel Wilson (87 total yards on 13 touches) admirably filled in for a hobbling Jacobs. Back in ’23, Wilson signed with the Denver Broncos after the draft and was waived three days later. He’s only gotten better in Green Bay.
QB conviction. Fall in love with a quarterback? Get that quarterback. There’s no greater lesson in pro football. Last year, the Hall of Famer Wolf broke down his acquisition of Favre. And in Love, Gutekunst saw an athletic, intelligent, mentally tough quarterback with the work ethic to steadily improve Year 1 to Year 2 to Year 3 as a backup.
So, he took him. He envisioned nights like this.
In the first half, Love deftly lowered his arm angle to bend a throw around the 33 1/8-inch arms of T.J. Watt to Kraft for his first touchdown.
Into the second half, on third and 7, Love scrambled right and heaved an absurd bomb to Watson. On the run, in the Kobe-fadeaway position, he’s able to Frisbee-flick the ball 40+ yards. As former Utah State wideout Siaosi Mariner said in 2020: “The things Patrick Mahomes is doing, he can do as well. I don’t even want to put a cap on him. Patrick Mahomes is a great player but this is Jordan Love.” Those words were mocked by many. We’re now seeing the similarities. Once he heated up, the field was Love’s personal arcade. He coolly drove another deep ball to Watson off play action for 28 yards. And when Pittsburgh showed blitz, and backed off? It didn’t spook him. On third and 9 — leading 29-19 with 6:52 left — dropped a gorgeous 14-yarder to Romeo Doubs in the bucket.
NBC opted not to touch any very real negativity surrounding Rodgers’ exit.
But at one point they did cite the unfortunate culture Rodgers inherited with the New York Jets. Obviously, Woody Johnson is one of the worst owners in the league, but this was a humorous point. It’s silly to let the QB off the hook when that same team bent to every single one of Rodgers’ personal wishes: hiring his OC, running his scheme, signing his buddies, canning the head coach, trading for Adams, etc., etc., etc.
The Jets ceded power to one player, and it backfired. Miserably.
The Steelers haven’t functioned with much of a quarterback plan, and it’s backfiring again.
Meanwhile, the Packers trusted in the impartial judgement of their GM, and it’s paying off.
If last night’s a sign, the fun is only getting started.
No Huddle
The Bills found an identity — Feed James Cook. In a 40-9 blowout win over Carolina, the running back ran wild for 216 yards on 19 carries. His blend of vision and speed may be unparalleled. Once Cook finds a crevice, he’s a danger to gain 40, 50, 60 yards any given play. This win served as a deep sigh of relief for a contender off back-to-back losses. They didn’t need Josh Allen and the passing game to wake up in Charlotte, but they will soon. Next up, the Kansas City Chiefs.
I like the Houston Texans (3-4) as a sneaky contender in the AFC. Their defense has been ferocious all season. Finally, in a 26-15 win over San Francisco, the offense caught up. CJ Stroud completed 4+ passes to five different receivers with 318 yards and two TDs in all. And he did it without No. 1 option Nico Collins. A year ago, the Chiefs needed friendly whistles at home to edge Houston in the divisional round of the playoffs. If Stroud can somehow recapture his rookie form, and continue to grow, this defense gives Houston a chance in any game.
Unforgivable loss for the Cincinnati Bengals. Losing to the Jets is bad enough. Surrendering 23 points in the fourth quarter with running back Breece Hall throwing the game-winning touchdown to tight end Mason Taylor is abysmal. Cincinnati allowed 502 yards and 39 points to a team whose owner publicly bashed his own quarterback. Afterward, Justin Fields admitted the comments had him crying in his closet. Fields also provided this all-time quote: “That’s outside noise at the end of the day. I get that he’s the owner of the team, but it’s outside noise.” Doesn’t get much worse than that. Time’s running out.
Chicago’s loss might’ve been equally ugly. Against a Ravens defense that was allowing an NFL-high 32 points per game and a Ravens offense starting Tyler Huntley, the Bears lost 30-14. Caleb Williams in 2025 continues to look much like the Caleb Williams of 2024. He threw an interception deep in his own end, a costly intentional grounding and missed a wide-open receiver in the end zone for good measure at the end. When they’re not forcing 4+ turnovers a game, who are the Bears? They’ll get Joe Flacco and the reeling Bengals next.
There are no such quarterback concerns in Foxborough. Against the NFL’s No. 1-ranked defense, Drake Maye’s MVP campaign marched on with an array of pinpoint-accurate passes in tight coverage. In all, Maye went 18 of 24 for 282 yards with three TDs and another 50 yards rushing. This day, Mack Hollins led the Patriots in receiving. The 23-year-old is already reaching the point where it doesn’t really matter who he’s throwing the ball to or who’s facing on defense. He’ll produce.
Brian Daboll and the Giants have now gone 5-20 in their last 25 games. Cam Skattebo is done for the season after dislocating his ankle. It’s a grisly injury. (Side note: How insanely tough is this guy? He initially asks to be helped up to walk off the field.) Yet, Jaxson Dart — the team’s big bet at quarterback — continues to flash. Dart made plays again in this loss to Philadelphia. Very interesting days ahead for these New York Giants.
Throwback…
ICYMI…
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Tyler,
I greatly appreciate your writing...it is fantastic...but you (and your buddy Bob) have a tendency overly pick bones with anything to do with Rodgers. You highlight bad games, ignore good performances, and moreover do not showing great objectivity on anything involving him. He played pretty well last night under pretty good pass pressure.
Further, before Gutey takes a bow, lets examine the following:
1. Per an excellent writer, "The GM has not been perfect. His miscalculation at cornerback could haunt. Keisean Nixon struggled this night. "
YA THINK!!! Other than Hobbs and Nixon, what did you think of play Mrs. Lincoln!!!
We have a GLARING WEAKNESS AT THE POSITION, and we just spent $48mm on what appears to be a dud (although I hope is simply banged up) His OL addition, Banks has been pedestrian to this point. So that is two big spends that did not met needs in free agency. To be fair the Jacobs signing was excellent and McKinney has underwhelmed this year.
2. You opined "Rodgers never relied heavily on this position, but his QB equals have." Which ones was he to rely upon? When he had good ones, he did use them well, most of the guys were mediocre at best...or said differently, how many did squat with anyone else...to wit:
• Donald Lee (2008–2010) - meh
• Jermichael Finley (2008–2013) Rodgers used him well until his neck injury
• Tom Crabtree (2010–2012) -meh
• Andrew Quarless (2010–2015) meh
• Richard Rodgers (2014–2017) – Rodgers used him, but the dude would not/could not block
• Jared Cook (2016): Rodgers used him….Brass would not resign him
• Lance Kendricks (2017) - meh
• Jimmy Graham (2018–2019) – was done when signed with the Packers
• Marcedes Lewis (2018–2022) – not a receiving threat
QED
Finally, if we look at the pick garnered from the trade, Gutey would get a C-, D+
• DE Lukas Van Ness (No. 13 overall) - did not start in college and we can all see why
• TE Luke Musgrave (42) - a dud at this point
• LB Edgerrin Cooper (45) - a definite maybe, a very good game last night, but that was the first all year
• S Evan Williams (111) - decent
• OL Jacob Monk (163) - nothing yet
• K Anders Carlson (207) - no opinion necessary
QED II
Golden has been the first first rounder in his tenure who has made a meaningful contribution. First rounders should start immediately, not take years to develop.
So, yay the Packers played will, but we have holes in the second most position on the field and the Wyatt injury showed lack of depth at DT as well. Roster construction needs to be improved.
Keep up the awesome work. My subscription is the best money I spend
I think it's a little unfair to evaluate all of these decisions purely after the fact, when a lot of luck is involved.
Jordan Love was considered at best the 3rd or 4th best QB in his draft class if I remember correctly. Now, maybe Gutenkunst is way better than average at picking QB's. But IMO, the lot likely outcome is that he's fine at it and they happened to get a great player. This pick looks like a huge blunder if he plays like a typical 4th QB off the board.
The Jacobs signing is also suspect. Most advanced stats have him as a below average efficiency back in about half of his seasons. He's the sort of player that has been great in fantasy, but that has been overrated due to consistently high volume. Giving that kind of player a market-setting contract screams overpay.
Look, all respect to the Packers for pulling this off. But when you hit 90th percentile outcomes on a bunch of your major decisions, I think it's fair to ask if it's skill or luck that's the main factor.