Texans’ C.J. Stroud and Packers’ Jordan Love go Head-To-Head with spectacular playoff debuts

The standard for playoff debuts was set high by C.J. Stroud, and Jordan Love nearly met it.

Love almost matched Stroud, who the day before led Houston past Cleveland in the greatest playoff performance ever for a rookie quarterback, going 16 for 21 for 274 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Love led Green Bay past Dallas on Sunday, going 16 for 21 for 272 yards—two less than Stroud—three touchdowns, and no interceptions.

The passer ratings of 157.2 that both quarterbacks achieved in a postseason game tie for third-best ever for a QB with at least 20 attempts. Josh Allen scored a perfect 157.6 in a wild-card game for Buffalo against New England two years ago, while Peyton Manning scored a perfect 158.3 in the Colts’ 2003 wild-card victory against Denver.

Lynn Dickey’s record for the highest passer rating in a postseason debut was surpassed by each of them. When the Packers faced the Cardinals in the 1982 wild-card round, Dickey had a 150.4 rating for the team.

Not only did Stroud perform admirably in his postseason debut, but two receivers also turned in strong outings.

Puka Nacua of the Rams had nine catches for 181 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Detroit, capping a record-breaking regular season in which he set rookie records for most catches and yards. In a playoff game against Philadelphia in the 2019 wild-card round, Nacua broke DK Metcalf’s rookie record of 160 yards receiving for Seattle.
That occurred the day after Rashee Rice of Kansas City recorded 130 yards receiving in a victory against Miami, which currently ranks him ninth among rookies in the playoffs.