Jared

Goff

Like Sam Darnold before him, all of the regular season accolades, of which there were many, were undone with one playoff implosion. Goff’s 4,629 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 8.6 yards per attempt all ranked top-five in the NFL. He beat the button-pusher allegations with improved play under pressure and evaded the dome-merchant accusations by winning all three of his outdoor games. Despite improving across the board, none of the fancy stats came to save him when the Commanders rolled into town. With a second consecutive NFC Championship berth on the line, Goff proved the haters right with a nightmare performance versus Washington that featured three picks plus a lost fumble. Dan Campbell said last year that making it back to the NFC title game would be twice as hard. He was right then and he’d be right again if he said it after this game. Goff is expected to lose OC Ben Johnson to an outside promotion and DC Aaron Glenn is in the same boat. Goff is a sure-fire QB1 for fantasy purposes with Johnson calling the plays, but his departure will give Goff his greatest test as a Lion.

The Lions struggled to move the football with any consistency in the first half but still took a 10-6 lead into the break. The flood gates would open after returning to the field, with three second half touchdowns from running back Jahmyr Gibbs sealing the NFC’s top seed and locking up both the lone playoff bye and home field advantage up to the Super Bowl for the Lions. Goff’s first interception resulted from a heads up play from Ivan Pace in the flat, who undercut a route by Craig Reynolds in the second quarter, while his second pick came on a deep shot to Jameson Williams on an overthrown ball down the middle of the field. Even so, Detroit’s defense was a big part of this win, holding a dangerous Vikings offense to just 262 total yards on the evening. Goff and the Lions await the coming weekend’s results before they find out their opponent in the Divisional Round.

Goff and the Lions fell behind early and took a 21-13 deficit into the half, eventually asserting their dominance after the break. His first touchdown pass of the evening came on a hook-and-ladder trick play, with a completed pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown who pitched the football to Jameson Williams for the score. He then threw second half touchdowns to tight end Sam LaPorta and alpha wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to lead the Lions to their first road victory of the 49ers since 1975. The win sends the Lions to a 14-2 record, tied with the Vikings ahead of the two teams meeting in Week 18 to decide the winner of the NFC Conference and recipient of the conference’s only playoff bye.

It was a run-of-the-mill destruction of an inferior team for Goff and the Lions. The veteran passer averaged over 10 yards per attempt for the fifth time this year and scored on nearly 10 percent of his dropbacks. The highlight of the day was a trick play toss to Sam LaPorta for a 21-yard score. Goff pretended to drop the snap and stumbled around, selling the appearance of him trying to gather a loose ball. Jahmyr Gibbs even got in on the action and dove near the not loose ball. After the fake was sold, Goff stood up and hit LaPorta in the back of the end zone. Goff has multiple scores in five of his past six games and is showing no signs of slowing. He will remain in the QB1 mix for his Week 17 matchup with San Francisco.

The Bills jumped out to an early lead on the Lions, which forced Detroit to have to throw early and often on Sunday, and Goff responded. With the Bills’ down multiple starters in the secondary and sitting in zone for basically the entire game, Goff just dissected the defense, finding open players all over the middle of the field. Goff was also elusive in the pocket, spinning out of multiple sacks and making plays down the field. There was not much more he could have done on Sunday, and he’ll get a chance to keep the momentum going next week against the Bears.

The three-score effort was Goff’s fourth of the season, while the interception was his first since his five-pick fiasco against the Texans four weeks ago. Locked in a tight battle, including trailing for large swaths of the second half, alleged front-runner Goff kept his wits about him even after a terrible third quarter INT allowed the Packers to go up 21-17 after trailing 17-7 at halftime. Spreading the ball around — six different Lions caught at least five passes — and employing tempo on many key downs, Goff played an effective, efficient point guard. All three of his scores came from inside the Packers’ three-yard line. Goff now has 10 days to rest up for a critical home test against the high-flying Bills.

Goff and the Lions were sharp early. Goff led them deep into Bears territory on the opening drive before settling on a Jake Bates field goal but then led a 10-play, 90-yard drive that ended with a three-yard touchdown pass to Sam LaPorta. Goff would connect with LaPorta again on a one-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, but it was the only score the Lions would muster in the second half as the Bears tightened up their defense to muster a comeback. Goff didn’t turn the ball over in this one and took just one sack. He gets a full week of rest before returning next Thursday for a Week 14 game against the Packers in a game that could decide the NFC North. Goff will be a fringe QB1 next week.

Goff took three sacks and fumbled once, but the Lions recovered. As usual, Goff was not at his best on the road, but the Lions rode a grind-it-out rushing attack as they outlasted a Colts team that was feisty on defense but ineffective on offense. There’s really not much to say beyond that. Goff is now headed home for the Lions’ annual Turkey Day classic, but it is to face a Bears defense that continues to hold up despite the struggles on Caleb Williams’ side of the ball. That, coupled with the short-week turnaround make Goff more of a borderline QB1 option for Week 13.

Goff entered Week 11 on the heels of one of the worst games of his career. He tossed five interceptions in a nightmare win over the Texans on Monday Night Football. You wouldn’t know that by watching this game. He and the Lions embarrassed the helpless Jaguars on all fronts in Week 11. Goff posted the second-highest YPA of his career at 14.2 while conceding zero sacks or interceptions. He also picked up a perfect passer rating of 158.3. He had an astounding nine completions of 20 or more yards as the Jags simply had no answers for Amon-Ra St. Brown or Jameson Williams. Goff will ride the momentum to a QB1 ranking for his Week 12 matchup with the Colts.

The Lions struggled to get anything going in the first half and took a 23-7 deficit into the break. Things were far different as they came back out of the tunnel, with two key interceptions by Carlton Davis keeping the Lions in contention. They would eventually go on to outscore the Texans 19-0 in the second half to steal a victory from the clutches of defeat, with Goff doing just enough when it mattered most to send the Lions to a commanding 8-1 record to lead the NFC. It was the first time since 2012 when a quarterback threw five interceptions and their team won, when Matt Ryan’s five picks weren’t enough for the Cardinals to beat the Falcons. Up next for the surging Lions is a floundering Jaguars team in Week 11.