The Detroit Lions have a winning record so far this season, and even though they have played well, they have flown under the radar so far due to both of their tough losses on the road.
Detroit's defense has struggled, and that has overshadowed the performance of it's elite offense. Specifically, Jared Goff is having a fantastic season. It looks as if he should finally be in the MVP conversation, but like his team, he is flying well under the radar.
After carving up the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5, it's clear Goff should be near the top of the MVP debate. He's thrown 12 touchdowns and 1,485 yards with no interceptions so far this year, which are excellent stats. With those numbers, the sky would seem to be the limit for Goff this season.
At this point, Goff is playing some of the best football in the league. Even ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky believes that to be the case. While joining "The Pat McAfee Show," Orlovsky admitted that Goff is playing fantastic football this season, arguably the best in the conference outside of anyone named Brock Purdy.
"Jared (Goff's) been great this year. Jared is playing in the NFC. I will tell you the only guys playing quarterback through the first five weeks definitively better than Goff would be Brock Purdy and that's about it. Maybe Bryce Young? But as far as quarterbacks who have been better through five weeks, I probably would tell you only Brock Purdy I would definitively say."
In the weeks ahead, there will be a chance for Goff to take even more of a step forward in the MVP race, especially as the Lions will play the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings after their bye in successive weeks. With big numbers in those games and, most importantly, wins, Goff can surge ahead even more and perhaps take over the mantle as the favorite.
Unfortunately, the Lions might be depending on the other side of the ball in order to fix everything for the perception of Goff and their offense for the rest of the way.
Lions defense must improve to stop casting pall over Goff's MVP hopes
Even though Goff plays on the other side of the ball, Detroit's defense has struggled in a big way to start the season. They are a direct reason for both of the losses the Lions have sustained, and even though they have contributed to the wins, that's not the narrative many will be going with.
If the Lions want to start to get more credit as a whole, and especially in the case of Goff, they're going to need to pick it up defensively. A team perceived as below-average on one side of the ball is not going to generate any of the love that gets their players nominated for awards at the end of the season.
During the same segment on "The Pat McAfee Show," Detroit fan and producer Evan Fox was asked if it was a fair statement to say that the Lions' defense is going to have to turn things around in order for the team to get any credit. He seemed to agree.
"The Lions' offense is outstanding. It's just going to come down to if this defense can get any stops at all. (Against the Cardinals) they did that and were pretty dangerous, so we'll see how it goes."
If the Lions can get the kind of performance from their defense they got in Week 5, it would go a long way toward helping out. They got a string of stops in the first half, and their offense took the game over completely after a sluggish start.
Detroit's offense is capable of winning games itself, but if the defense meets them halfway once in a while, they could blow plenty of teams out in 2026. That itself could get Goff into the discussion for MVP honors.
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