November 20th will officially mark ten years since Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff started his first NFL game. It was a 10-14 loss against the Miami Dolphins.
Goff failed to secure his first career win that day, but this Sunday, he'll get his chance to achieve another significant career milestone against the Dolphins. With his next win, Goff will reach 100 career wins across both the regular and postseason.
It's worth noting that this only counts games started by a QB. There was the playoff game in the 2020 season against the Seattle Seahawks, where an injured Goff had to step in for John Wolford, who was injured himself after six pass attempts. Goff led the Los Angeles Rams to victory, but Wolford was officially credited with the win.
Whether you still want to count that win or not is up to you. Regardless, by winning one more start, Goff will become the 29th QB ever to reach that 100-win milestone. Josh Allen became the 28th to do so earlier this season. Goff would join Allen and other greats of the game in Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, Joe Flacco, and Patrick Mahomes as the only active QBs with 100 total wins.
For just the regular season, Goff is at 95 wins. A win on Sunday puts him four away from becoming the 22nd or 23rd QB to reach 100 wins, depending on whether Allen (94) gets there first. Currently, 11 of the 21 QBs to reach 100 regular-season wins are in the Hall of Fame, with names like Tom Brady, Rodgers, Stafford, and Mahomes among those expected to make it in once eligible.
But first, there's just one small problem: Goff has never beaten the Dolphins.
The Dolphins have had Jared Goff's number from the start
Goff has played the Dolphins a total of three times in his career. The first was the aforementioned rookie debut, in which Goff completed 54.8% of his passes, with 134 passing yards, no touchdowns, and no turnovers.
That might not even be his worst performance against the Dolphins. In his second start against them in 2020, Goff threw for 355 yards on 57.4% passing, with a touchdown, but he tossed two interceptions and lost two fumbles in a 17-28 loss.
Goff's lone start against the Dolphins with the Lions was definitely his best of the three, completing 73% of his passes with a TD and no turnovers. Still, the Lions lost 27-31 to fall to 1-6, famously the last loss before the team's sharp turnaround and near playoff appearance in 2022.
Sunday will mark Goff's first start against the Dolphins since the resurgence of his career and the Lions. If Goff walks away victorious, the Dolphins will become the 30th different franchise Goff has beaten.
He'll join those other 100-win QBs and Kirk Cousins as the only active QBs two or fewer teams away from becoming the seventh QB ever to beat all possible franchises. He would then only be missing the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Sunday is poised to be a full-circle moment for Goff in his career, and a chance to exercise another career demon. The Dolphins are 1-6 this season, but they're middle-of-the-pack in passing yards given up (221.0), so they shouldn't be taken lightly.
However, the only times the Dolphins' defense has given up more than 30 points this season just so happened to be the games they went up against MVP candidates Brock Purdy and Joe Burrow.
Goff has been playing at an MVP level this season, too, and an MVP-like performance on Sunday could vastly improve his betting odds in that regard. It would also put him one step closer to getting the recognition he deserves — both now and for his career as a whole.
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