Is Jordan Love Really Fueled by the Power of Toyotathon?

Starting this weekend, the Green Bay Packers QB has the opportunity to make a meme come true.

I can’t believe it’s already here, but we’re over halfway through the 2024 NFL season. It’s about this time of year that the league’s playoff teams begin to show themselves. The real are separated from the fake, the list of MVP finalists begins to take shape, and the TOYOTATHON MERCHANT RISES FROM HIS SLUMBER. Potentially. We actually don’t know yet.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about: a video, posted by an account on Tik Tok called @kicks, pointed out that Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love’s sudden rise to stardom in 2023 happened to coincide with the duration of Toyotathon. Yes, the decades-old annual sales event pushed by automotive manufacturer Toyota.

The video is brief (and one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen), so we’re going to dig a little deeper and see if @kicks may be onto something. After all, with Toyotathon 2024 beginning on Friday, November 15th (this isn’t an ad, I swear), this weekend’s game against the Chicago Bears will be our first look at if the meme might turn out to be true.

Last year’s Toyotathon began on November 15th, 2023, and ended January 3rd of this year. As many of us remember, the Packers got off to a slow start during the 2023 season. Jordan Love was still finding his rhythm and working the kinks out, and the receiving room looked raw and a little unreliable. In the 9 games prior to Toyotathon, Love had an abysmal 58.6% completion, 2,009 passing yards, 14 passing TDs, and 10 INTs. Over the span of a 17 game season, these stats would equate to 3,795 yards, 26 TDs, and 19 INTs. Except…Toyotathon happened.

The Packers’ first game after Toyotathon began was a 23-20 win against the Los Angeles Chargers, and wouldn’t you know it: Love threw for a season-high 322 passing yards, 2 TDs, and no picks. This game kickstarted a run which would see the Packers go 6-2 in their final 8 games of the season, earning them the NFC’s final playoff spot. Love’s play during this stretch of the season, as we all remember, had fans around the league saying “The Packers did it again”. During these final 8 games, Love’s completion percentage skyrocketed to 70.25% while throwing for 2,150 yards, 18 TDs, and just 1 INT.

Now, the Toyotathon theory does lose a little steam here, because it ended four days before Love had his best game of the season, completing 84% of his passes against the Chicago Bears for 316 yards and 2 TDs. Have we considered, however, that this was just residual power from one of the biggest automotive sales events of the year?

The video on Tik Tok goes on to mention Love’s start to the 2024 season. The QB has dealt with multiple injuries which have kept him out of games this year, and has turned the ball over just as many times in 7 games as he did in 9 last season. This, of course, is not entirely his fault. The drop rate from his receivers has been one of the highest in the league this season, at 9.8%. That being said, there is still definite room for improvement from Love in his second year as the full-time starter. Through 7 games, Love has thrown for 1,820 yards and 15 TDs. Stretched out over 17 games, this would be on pace for 4,420 yards and 36 TDs. Not bad! The turnovers, however, give you pause. 10 interceptions in 7 games would equate to about 24 interceptions during a 17 game season.

Given what we know about Jordan Love, and what we saw last season, I fully expect the turnover rate to dip as the Packers begin their second stretch of the season. The team is coming off of a much needed bye week, guys are healing up, and the receiving room has hopefully gotten ahold of the drop issue. Plus, you know, the Toyotathon thing.

With Toyotathon 2024 starting two days before the Packers face off against their biggest rivals in the league, and ending the day after they close out the season against this same team, are we about to see an even more powerful Jordan Love? Will the automobile aura take over? If I talk about cars for one moment longer, I might explode. Stay tuned folks! We’re officially on TOYOTATHON WATCH.