When the original Pro Bowl rosters were released by the NFL, it made some sense that Jordan Love wasn't part of it. The NFC quarterbacks were San Francisco 49ers' Brock Purdy, who had a great statistical season, Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott and Los Angeles Rams' Matthew Stafford.

You could certainly argue that Love had a better season than Hurts, but the decision can go both ways and that's the nature of the Pro Bowl — the fact that Hurts had an amazing 2022 season helped.

The really bizarre aspect of it all comes now. All three quarterbacks originally selected won't be available — Purdy will play in the Super Bowl, while Prescott and Stafford elected no to play for injury reasons. And even then, Jordan Love hasn't been named as an alternate selection.

The NFC quarterbacks in the Pro Bowl games will be Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts, Seattle Seahawks' Geno Smith, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield. Ok, we can understand the initial selection. But Smith and Mayfield over Love is truly surprising. Arguably, Detroit Lions' Jared Goff should be there too.

PFF grade: Love vs. Pro Bowlers

Among the three NFC quarterbacks in the Pro Bowl, Jalen Hurts is the only one who finished the season with a higher offensive grade than Love. Geno Smith is slightly below, and Mayfield is significantly below — even with weapons like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

Here are the top 10 NFC quarterbacks in PFF grade in 2023:

• Dak Prescott 90.0
• Matthew Stafford 88.2
• Brock Purdy 87.0
• Jalen Hurts 86.7
• Kirk Cousins 86.1 (injured through the season)
• Jared Goff 85.5
• Jordan Love 83.6
• Geno Smith 82.9
• Derek Carr 77.2
• Baker Mayfield 77.2

With Cousins hurt and with the top three out for multiple reasons, Jordan Love certainly deserved consideration — especially over Baker Mayfield, who was behind Derek Carr.

Using a combination of EPA/play and completion percentage over expected (CPOE) to measure efficiency and accuracy, Jordan Love was even better. He was ninth in the entire league, fifth in the NFC — and fourth if you exclude Kirk Cousins. He was just behind Purdy, Prescott, and Hurts. Mayfield was 11th, and Smith was 14th.

Before the end of the season, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur talked about how well Love was playing.

"I can't say enough great things about him," LaFleur said. "Just his ability to hang in there versus some tough looks, drifting away from pressure, putting the ball in play, allowing his guys to go make plays. I think he's playing at an incredibly high level."

Jordan Love obviously played better in the second half of the season, and the Pro Bowl usually has some kind of delay — it takes time for the public perception of a player to change, and it's frequent that a player who grows (or falls) is only recognized in the following year.

But with so many alternate quarterbacks playing, Jordan Love absolutely should be in. He isn't, though, and this might serve as fuel for 2024.

What was Jordan Love’s most unforgettable play of the 2023 season?

Quarterback finished his first season as an NFL starter