Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff didn't have his best performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was one of those "Jared Goof" games. For most Lions fans, that can be forgiven. The Lions defeated the then one-loss Buccaneers for some much-needed momentum heading into the bye week.
With plenty of time to study film and address offensive issues, fans will be expecting much better out of Goff in the Lions game against division rival Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. So far this season, Goff has responded well to poor performances.
Before last week's game against the Buccaneers, Goff had two performances this season where he threw an interception: Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers and Week 4 against the Cleveland Browns. Those were also the only two games where he posted a passer rating below 100. The Browns game also marked Goff's lowest completion percentage (59.3%) and passing yards (168) on the season.
Following those two games, Goff rebounded in a big way, throwing for a passer rating above 150 in Week 2 against the Chicago Bears and in Week 5 against the Cincinnati Bengals, both victories. Those two games produced Goff's two highest totals in passing yards and passing touchdowns on the season, as well as his only two performances thus far with a completion percentage above 80%. The only real blemish in those two games was Goff's four sacks and his fumble against the Bengals.
Goff is no stranger to such rebound performances. For example, after his infamous five-INT game against the Houston Texans last season, Goff followed it up with his second career perfect passer rating game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. As a whole, Goff hasn't had back-to-back games with an INT in the same regular season since Weeks 1-3 last season. Weeks 1 and 2 of that season were also the last time in the same regular season that Goff had back-to-back games with a passer rating below 100.
Goff has a great opportunity to quell concerns
There was a noticeable caveat to the previous stat: "in the same regular season." Goff isn't prone to back-to-back poor performances. Goff had a rough outing in last season's Week 18 game against the Vikings, then had arguably his worst game as a Lion in the divisional playoff round against the Washington Commanders, before his aforementioned performance against the Packers in Week 1.
Those memories are much fresher in the minds of Lions fans than the first few weeks of the 2024 season. There have been obvious growing pains with the transition to a new offensive coordinator. Goff has still proven he's the MVP-caliber QB under OC John Morton, as he was under Ben Johnson, but this season hasn't been smooth-sailing for the offense. Despite a high-scoring output, the offense hasn't been the well-oiled machine fans have grown accustomed to. Missed opportunities have become a trend, and Goff has a role in that.
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Goff will be in a great position for a strong performance this Sunday. In the past two weeks, the Vikings' defense has allowed big passing numbers to Jalen Hurts and Justin Herbert. Each QB was honored among Pro Football Focus' "Team of the Week" for each of the past two weeks. Hurts' 95.2 grade was the highest of any QB on the season through Week 7.
Between that and a bye week to prepare, expectations are understandably high for Goff in Week 9. If Goff has an underwhelming performance against the Vikings, even in a win, concerns for him, Morton, and the offense may start to truly boil over. However, Goff has proven his ability to leave bad games in the past and quickly restore any degrading trust. Bad games do happen, and what separates great QBs from the not-so-great ones is how they respond. Few are better at this than Goff.