As for Jared Goff, first let me put down in digital ink how much I admire and appreciate what he’s done as a person and player throughout his career – which I began covering in Berkeley.
I’m thankful to Goff for the multitude of fond memories he authored: from the perfect game on Thursday Night against the Vikings to the greatest game in Monday Night Football history; blocking out the noise in New Orleans and sending the Seahawks to Cabo with nine good fingers.
And just as he resurrected Cal and the Rams, he’s done it again for the Motor City.
“I so badly want to win a game for this city – win a playoff game for this city,” Goff said this week.
The 29-year-old was born more than two years after the Lions won their last playoff game; that franchise is 0-7 in the postseason in his lifetime. This is another career-defining moment for him.
He’s so similar to the player he was in Horns, and yet his progress is also undeniable.
On the one hand, the difference between Goff’s passer rating when clean versus and when pressured is the largest drop-off in the NFL in 2023, according to Next Gen Stats. By passer rating, only San Francisco’s Brock Purdy was better this season when protected. By touchdown-to-interception ratio, only Washington’s Sam Howell was worse under duress.
On the other hand, just last week Goff picked apart Minnesota’s relentless blitz. Why is that significant? Because the Vikings defensive coordinator is Brian Flores, who was the same Bill Belichick disciple who attacked Goff with zero blitz in 2020. And I’ll always believe the beginning of the end of the Goff era in L.A. was that day in Miami when he couldn’t solve for Flores, turning it over four times and losing to the Dolphins. Last Sunday he went for 320 yards, two scores, and zero giveaways.
Among the many similarities between the way the quarterbacks have played since the trade and again this season, red zone performance is what stands out most.
According to NFL Research, Goff (18 TD, 0 INT) and Stafford (17 TD, 0 INT) are the only players with 15 or more passing touchdowns in the red zone without an interception in 2023.
I think the coaching storylines are just as good. Think about how staggeringly different their paths to this Sunday are.
Dan Campbell played tight end for ten years, then coached for another decade before ascending to the top spot.
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