Jordan Love's defining moment as the Packers' franchise QB - ESPN

The play will be part of Jordan Love's highlight reel forever — a 53-yard bomb the Green Bay Packers quarterback threw to Christian Watson on the first offensive play of last year's Thanksgiving Day game on the way to an upset of the Detroit Lions.

The story behind that play might eventually fade away, but not for Mike Sanford, Love's offensive coordinator and position coach during his final college season at Utah State in 2019.

When Sanford read that LaFleur texted Love on the morning of the game to say he had changed his mind and wanted to open with a safer play — only to have Love convince his coach to stick with it — Sanford knew it was a big moment for the Packers' first-year starting quarterback.

«He stuck his neck out,» Sanford said.

And that told him Love had reached a critical point for any quarterback who hoped to become a star.

«He's never going to be like, 'No we have to do that,'» Sanford said. «But he'll be like, 'No, I like that, we should stick with it.' I had those same interactions with him before games when we were putting together the openers.»

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