Simms Offers Weird Jordan Love-49ers Cameo in Super Bowl LVIII originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
Brock Purdy and the 49ers came just short of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in February, but NBC Sports’ Chris Simms believes a change at quarterback could have done the job.
“If [Green Bay Packers quarterback] Jordan Love played in the Super Bowl, the 49ers would be Super Bowl champions,” Simms proclaimed in the latest edition of “Chris Simms Unbuttoned.”
Love spent his first two NFL seasons learning from future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers before taking the reins during a 2023 launch campaign.
The 25-year-old played in all 17 games in his first full season as the team’s starter, throwing for 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns and 11 picks with a 64.2 completion rate (579 attempts).
“Jordan Love, what he did at the end of the year, the last 10 weeks of the season, they took the training wheels off and he played at a phenomenally high level,” Simms said. “AND [he] actually been asked to do more [than Purdy] definitely on a physical basis.”
After a 2-5 start, Love led Green Bay’s remarkable turnaround to earn the 7th seed in the NFC playoffs. And after impressing the second-place Dallas Cowboys on the road, the Packers earned a playoff meeting with the No. 1 49ers in the divisional round.
While Green Bay suffered a 24-21 loss to San Francisco, Simms still believes that Love, in addition to two costly throws, including a game-sealing interception on the final drive, outperformed Purdy.
“If you came back [to the NFC Divisional game], Jordan Love had both interceptions late in the game. Jordan Love in that game played better than Brock Purdy,” Simms said. “Brock Purdy should have thrown seven interceptions in that game. He was lucky that night. We’d all be talking differently if Green Bay could catch on. It wasn’t a good night.
” … When [the 49ers’ offense] is firing on all cylinders, Purdy doesn’t do much to bring the offense back. Now, he does more than Jimmy Garoppolo used to do and it’s definitely an improvement in that and in all areas, but I’d still like to see more.”
After a rough start to 2023, Love finished the season with 32 touchdown passes and 4,159 yards.
Meanwhile, Purdy joined together a historic campaign in his second year with the 49ers and first full season as a starter. The 24-year-old led the league in passer rating (113.0) and had 31 touchdowns with 4,280 yards while leading his team to Super Bowl LVIII.
With the 2024 offseason program underway, Purdy and the 49ers have flipped the script and are focused on continuing their Quest for Six. But Simms believes San Francisco would have already accomplished that mission if Love was the team’s starter at center.
