5 clutch performers for Detroit Lions down the stretch

The Detroit Lions have put themselves in a position where Sunday night’s Week 18 contest in Green Bay against the Packers could potentially mean a spot in the playoffs with a win. After a 1-6 start, that didn’t seem like a possibility back in November, but credit to head coach Dan Campbell, his staff and the players for turning their season around and finishing 7-2 to make a run.

There have been a lot of performances that have propelled the Lions into this position down the stretch. Here are five that stand out to me:

1. Quarterback Jared Goff

Goff is playing the best football of his career, and he’s one of the big catalysts behind Detroit’s success the final few months of the season.

Goff is currently one of just six signal callers in the NFL with a passer rating north of 100.0 (100.1). He’s sixth in yards (4,214), fourth in touchdowns (29), and his seven interceptions are the sixth fewest among quarterbacks with at least 300 pass attempts on the year. Goff hasn’t thrown an interception in 290 pass attempts dating back to Nov. 6 in the first matchup with the Packers Week 9.

“He’s in this mode right now where you feel like anytime you dial up a pass he’s going to find us somebody,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said after Goff’s three-touchdown performance in Detroit’s 41-10 win over the Bears last week. “He’s going to find the throw, he’s going to get it to the guy that’s open and that’s a great feeling, man, to feel your quarterback is in that mode and he’s been there.”