Lions' Jared Goff is absolutely dealing to start 2026

Another year, another hot start for Jared Goff.

The Detroit Lions’ veteran is playing about as well as any quarterback in the NFL to begin the 2026 season.

Through three games, Goff has completed 70.6% of his passes for 802 yards and eight touchdowns with no interceptions. The Lions have started 2-1

Jahmyr Gibbs has been the story of this Lions team, along with a bad defense so far, but Goff’s play shouldn’t fly under the radar. He’s in complete control of the offense.

“He's on point like he is every year,” Gibbs said of Goff after the Lions’ win over the New York Jets. “He's the same player since I've been here, just diagnosing the defense and getting the ball to the right players at the right time. He's our leader and we trust him with everything.”

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According to the Lions, Goff is in rare air to begin the 2026 season. His stat line matches just five other quarterbacks in NFL history, and it’s a good group to be in. 

Detroit’s offense has been as consistent as consistent gets. The Lions have scored exactly 31 points in all three games. They’ve recorded a game-high of 381 yards and a low of 355.

It’s been a mostly methodical unit, too. Detroit hasn’t hit the long ball downfield much at all, and Goff is just 16th in the NFL in average depth of target per throw. Defenses just aren’t willing to let that up.

“I think I've done a good job of being disciplined and not getting frustrated, I guess, with the lack of deep throws,” Goff said. “It's not that we're not calling them. It's just that they're playing with so much depth.”

The Lions’ opponents are terrified of wide receiver Jameson WiIliams. His speed gives them so much to worry about as a deep threat, and defenses are simply determined to keep a lid on him. Detroit has faced two-high safety looks time and time again this season, and though it’s largely taken away the deep ball, it’s opened up things underneath.

“I'm saying this for the third week in a row,” Goff said. “Teams are playing us with so much depth, and understandably so because of Jamo, that sometimes the intermediate stuff becomes a little bit more open, and obviously the stuff underneath.”

When Goff has had the opportunity to let it fly, he’s looked accurate. Williams dropped a deep ball in Week 1 that would’ve gone for a touchdown and made the stats look a little better. Still, at least according to Pro Football Focus, Goff has thrown the deep ball well.

The 49-yard pass to Isaac TeSlaa is a good example of what Williams’ gravity has opened up. The two Jets safeties came screaming up the field to take Williams on the clear out, and it left swaths of space for TeSlaa.

Goff said after the win the only way for the Lions to break those two-high shells is to run the ball well and force teams to bring more defenders closer to the line of scrimmage. If Gibbs keeps having the season he’s having, then you have to think they should be able to make that happen.

Regardless of the coverage looks defenses throw out there, Goff provides such a good baseline for Detroit with his play. He’s been one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the NFL for half a decade now. Goff is one of the smarter players in the NFL and has great pre and post-snap processing abilities, and is also a high level player in the play action game.

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His lack of mobility and struggles dealing with pressure will always be what his detractors point to. Even his own former offensive playcaller took a light-hearted jab at him this week. But he’s been so productive with multiple playcallers at this point that it’s tough to keep poking those same holes.

Plus, he doesn’t exactly turn into a pumpkin against pressure.

The Jets blitzed Goff 16 times Sunday, and he was 16-for-16 for 173 yards and two touchdowns on those plays. He’s also graded out as a top-5 quarterback under pressure this season from PFF.

People will harp on Goff’s limitations until the end of time. That’s just how it goes when you’re one of the last true pocket passers in the NFL. But no one should be taking this consistent, high level of play for granted. Especially as he’s on his fourth different play caller during his six years in Detroit.

If the defense can make an acquisition here or there, or just generally improve, the Lions could be as formidable as any team in the NFC. You definitely don’t need to worry about Goff and the offense right now.

Detroit has a chance to reach 3-1 this season on the Sunday Night Football stage against the Carolina Panthers on the road.

“The guy is playing at a high level at the quarterback position, put a lot on him,” head coach Dan Campbell said. “We do every week, man, a bunch of these kills and different things to try to get us in the perfect play. And we put a lot on him and he's just playing at a high level, man.”

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