Jared Goff needed to be aggressive this past Thursday against the Buffalo Bills.
Quickly falling into a 0-21 hole, with a defense that couldn't stop Josh Allen and the Bills' offense, the Detroit Lions quarterback had to make every throw if there was any hope of winning.
He didn't, but it wasn't for the lack of trying. Goff completed 68.4% of his passes for 327 yards, four passing touchdowns, and zero interceptions.
What was notable about Goff's comeback attempt was how aggressive he was, with 28.9% of his passes thrown into tight windows (less than one yard of separation), per Pride of Detroit's Al Karsten. That rate was second among qualified QBs in Week 2.
Few passes epitomize that than his second of four TD passes. Situated on the Bills' two-yard line, Goff throws a quick pass to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. St. Brown was draped by cornerback Christian Benford, and Goff threw the ball the only place St. Brown could get it -- just off the ground in front of him. Benford's hand barely misses Goff pinpoint shot, as St. Brown hauls it in, and maintains possession as he rolls into the endzone for six.
Goff's aggressiveness extends beyond Week 2. Through two weeks of the season, Goff is the most aggressive QB league-wide among those who've started both games (22.1%), per Hardcount (via Next Gen Stats) and presented by Football University on X.
There's numerous possible reasons why Goff leads the way in aggressiveness. The Lions were in comeback mode for most of the Bills game, which may have inflated the numbers a tad. As the season goes on, we could also learn that this is more of a feature, and not a bug, in the Drew Petzing offense. Jacoby Brissett was 14th in the NFL last season in aggressiveness under Petzing (16.5%), while Goff was 37th (12.5%).
Football University's chart points to another possible reason: the offensive line.
The O-line is not giving Goff enough time
Per Football University's chart, Goff's time to throw falls below average (2.8 seconds from snap to release), which is 20th-most in the league so far this season. Leading the way in the category is Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams with 3.42 seconds.
To the O-line's credit, that is slightly better than the 2.7 seconds from last season, which was good for 35th among all QBs. However, it speaks to the prolonged issue the Lions have had protecting Goff since center Frank Ragnow's retirement.
READ MORE: The state of the NFC North remains up in the air following Week 2 results
Goff, the QB with the reputation for "crumbling under pressure" and "needing an above average O-line to be effective," has had to make play after play under pressure and with a below average O-line since the start of last season. Performances like this past Thursday show Goff can absolutely handle it far better than his reputation suggests, but with a rash of injuries to QBs this season, it's nerve-racking watching Goff fight for his life in the pocket.
Of course, the vision for the 2026 Lions O-line has not yet been put into practice, and it won't until C Cade Mays returns in a few weeks. It also didn't help that rookie right tackle Blake Miller missed his first game in years, if ever, on Thursday.
Miller should be back on Sunday against the New York Jets, so Goff should be a little more comfortable out there without Larry Borom at RT. But until the O-line (and the defense) solidifies itself, the Lions will continue to ask Goff to be aggressive well more than he ever has been in his career.
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