We've all heard the critique: Jared Goff can't play in cold weather.
The Detroit Lions quarterback has had this criticism follow him since he got traded to the Detroit Lions, who happen to play in one of the coldest weather divisions in the NFL. While Ford Field is covered, two other divisional opponents' fields are not: the Green Bay Packers' field, and the Chicago Bears' field.
So, of course, the NFL has decided to schedule the Lions for two back-to-back road games against the Bears and Packers to finish out their regular season. Goff, in January, at Lambeau and Soldier Field: the scriptwriters just couldn't help themselves.
Goff has just been handed a golden opportunity to flip that script, though. If he can swing two wins in a row (or, at the very least, two excellent games from him versus these opponents), he could probably avoid that narrative following him into the postseason.
Goff has the perfect opportunity to flip cold weather narrative on its head
Historically, Goff hasn't necessarily been bad in cold weather - it's just the fact that he wears gloves for those games that seems to skew the perception of his ability to perform well in these games. Last year, the Lions' offensive line didn't really help to eradicate that narrative, though, with it being shoddy enough to keep him off his feet and on the ground.
But, prior to the Lions' offensive line struggles, Goff's numbers in cold weather games were unbelievably skewed. As perfectly laid out by A to Z Sports' Mike Payton last year:
"Goff has played 12 games in weather below 50 degrees since coming to the Lions. In those games, he’s thrown a combined 2,778 yards, 15 touchdowns, and four interceptions. He completed 64% of his passes. Someone now has to tell me why this is bad because I’m just not seeing it."
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It's an unfair narrative to attach to Goff because of box score watchers who want to discredit his ability to lead this Lions team through a treacherous NFC North, especially as he's hitting his 10th year in the league and in the thick of a contention push with Detroit. That push is in major thanks to his play.
The Lions' final two games of the 2026 season could not only make or break their shot at winning the NFC North outright, but could officially throw some cold water on the Goff-cold weather critique. A revamped offensive line with plenty of games prior to these two key matchups should help Goff to achieve that goal handily.
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