Jared Goff continues to piece together an excellent season for the Detroit Lions, as the franchise QB continues to also soar up multiple quarterback rankings.
While he may not be the current-best quarterback in the NFC North, he's still one of the most reliable quarterbacks in the NFC as a whole. That's going to be beneficial to the Lions throughout this postseason, assuming the team makes the big dance. With a 6-2 record and relative health at the moment, though, it's hard not to imagine Detroit getting back there.
Goff recently leapt up four spots in FanSided's quarterback rankings up to ninth through Week 9, and he continue to join the ranks of almost every single NFC North signal caller by our NFL experts' standards. He's considered a "high-end quarterback," just below "elite."
Goff continues to shine for Lions despite offense slipping up
I wrote of Goff for these rankings:
"The Simpsons. Dancing with the Stars. Sliced bread. Jared Goff. What do these things have in common? An unbelievable level of excellence and consistency over their long runs. Goff is shutting critics down - again - this season, managing one of the most elite offenses in the NFL. An improved O-line is certainly helping him, but Goff is also making limited mistakes, making smart plays almost religiously, and even more miraculously, being one of Detroit’s best downfield run blockers. He might not be the flashiest QB in the NFC North, but he’s certainly the most reliable of the bunch."
He's simply the kind of quarterback you love to root for - he's gritty, accurate, an excellent leader, and clearly a respected cog as part of an elite offense. Of course, the Lions' offense has taken a bit of a step back in recent weeks, in much thanks (or no thanks?) to their slow starts. It's a bug that continues to pester offensive coordinator Drew Petzing's system, through no fault of Goff.
Lions' slower offense being masked by improved defense
Who would've thought that the Lions' defense would begin to mask some of the deficiencies on their offense as we head into Week 10?
It's true, though - the Lions have held three straight opponents to under 20 points, while their offense has also struggled to crack that same mark. Two key reasons for this are their slower starts and drives that are often stalling out, and their offensive line seemingly taking time each game to get into a rhythm in their pass blocking and run blocking.
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The defense, on the other hand, has looked a lot stronger in coverage. They're beginning to regularly generate turnovers and batted passes, and you can tell that the inclusion of Brian Branch back in the lineup has had a big impact on their makeup.
You trust that the offense will figure things out, though. It was the defense that fans were rightfully worried about this season so far, and honestly, we should still keep an eye on their effectiveness in a few key games coming up against explosive quarterbacks - Week 10 against Drake Maye, and Week 12 against Caleb Williams.
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