When Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love went down with a knee injury in the waning seconds of his team’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil on Friday night, it sent ripples through several NFL betting markets.
The biggest changes, unsurprisingly, swept across the Packers’ 2024-25 futures odds. With Love expected to miss at least the next several weeks with what’s being described as a sprained MCL, it’s also caused some shifts in Green Bay’s weekly odds for the next few games.
Love’s injury comes just as the Packers QB was climbing up the NFL MVP odds board. While missing a few games early in the season doesn’t necessarily knock him out of the running, it did instantly drop him from the list of top favorites.
How has Love’s injury affected Packers odds?
Green Bay wasn’t exactly a top favorite in Super Bowl odds before Love had his knee wrenched at an awkward angle in the final seconds of Friday night’s loss against the Eagles. But after opening at +2200 to win it all this season, the Packers have now dropped to +3500 in Super Bowl odds.
It’s a similar story for Green Bay odds in other betting markets. The Packers started out right behind the Detroit Lions in odds to win the NFC North. But after Love’s injury, the team has fallen from +220 to +600 in division winner odds.
Green Bay’s projected win total odds have also shifted slightly in the wake of Love’s injury. After setting the Packers’ win total at 9.5, sportsbooks set the opening price on the over at +110. That has moved to +130 after the Week 1 loss that knocked Love from the starting lineup.
The Packers also went from -4 favorites in this Sunday’s home opener in NFL Week 2 action against the Indianapolis Colts to +3.5 underdogs.
How long will Love be out?
Early indications were that Love could be out anywhere from four to six weeks with a sprained MCL. During a Monday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter suggested that the timeline for Love’s return could be three to four weeks.
Regardless, a projected absence of even just a few weeks, combined with the team’s 0-1 start, had an instant impact on Love’s MVP odds. He’d crept into the top five just before the start of the regular season, but the injury moved him from +1400 to +13000.
Who is Jordan Love’s backup QB in Green Bay?
The Packers traded for former Tennessee Titans QB Malik Willis in the offseason, naming him QB2 during summer practices. The team cut backup Sean Clifford, signing him to the practice squad. Clifford is now likely to be elevated to the active roster with Love injured.
Willis is a third-year quarterback out of Liberty University. So far, he’s seen limited action in the NFL, appearing in 11 total games across two seasons with the Titans. He has yet to throw for a touchdown in the NFL, but he did run for one score in his rookie season. Willis came in for the final play of Friday’s loss, his first action with Green Bay.
Clifford is a second-year player out of Penn State, drafted by the Packers in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft. He appeared in just two games during his rookie season, completing the one and only pass he threw as Love’s backup. After a somewhat disappointing summer camp and preseason, he was cut from the roster and signed to the Packers practice squad.
