NFC Notes: Joshua Dobbs, Sam LaPorta, Jordan Love, Lions, Packers, Vikings

Lions TE Sam LaPorta added to an already strong rookie campaign with a career-high 140 receiving yards on nine catches and a touchdown as the team took down the Saints on Sunday.

Aside from setting the franchise rookie record for receiving yards by a tight end, LaPorta drew praise from QB Jared Goff and opposing S Tyrann Mathieu.

“Yeah, (I’m) as comfortable (with him) as anyone I’ve played with,” Goff said, via Justin Rogers of The Detroit News. “And for a rookie, that’s pretty tremendous. I’d compare it directly to what Saint (Amon-Ra St. Brown) was doing as a rookie, as far as on the field and off the field and the type of pro he is, knowing his assignments. He rarely has a (missed assignment), and rarely has that type of rookie mistake. Very rarely. He’s such a reliable guy and a guy that I count on in those crunch times. I know he’s a clutch player.”

“Well, he’s going to be a good player. I told him that after the game,” Mathieu said. “Just crafty for a rookie, man. The kind of routes he runs, his frame, his length, and then, anytime you and the quarterback are on the same page, they’re going to come away with some plays. I thought he probably had two of the more clutch plays in this game. So there were a few third-downs in there. We had everybody covered, and then he just put the ball on his body, not his first down. So we just got to do a better job in the back end of just challenging guys, understanding their route tree, what to expect. Nevertheless, man, he’s going to be a good player for a long time.”

“You don’t want to get caught up in all that,” LaPorta commented. “It kind of muddies your vision, clouds your vision for the team and success we want to have moving forward.”

Packers QB Jordan Love commented on the 27-19 win over the Chiefs, a game he set he was looking forward to proving himself in.

“It’s huge. For me personally, obviously, I’ve had this game circled for a long time,” Love said, via NFL.com. “It was my first start (against the Chiefs in 2021), obviously, I didn’t play how I wanted to the first game, so being able to see these guys again and get the victory is huge. This is a great team win tonight. Everybody just balled out, so it was an awesome win.”

“I think me personally, it’s just being able to see the stuff,” Love added on playing against the pass rush. “I’ve got more reps, I’m more comfortable, understanding where I need to go with the ball. I think the O-line is doing a great job just being able to pick this stuff up. It’s not easy when they’re bringing all-outs, some of these blitzes, things like that, but they’ve been doing a great job giving me time and then receivers, obviously, they’re having awareness of when they need to be open and how long I’ve got and then just going out there and making plays. It’s definitely something we, as a team, practice. We know some teams are going to bring it and we’ve got to be able to execute and go out there and make sure they don’t do it again.”