Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff didn't quite reach a historical mark by himself on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, but he did become the fourth quarterback in NFL history to have three straight games with passer rating of 140 or better.
It's practically impossible to fully comprehend how well Goff is playing right now. It's getting to a point incompletions are surprising and rare. His calm demeanor when adversity comes (like a 10-0 early deficit on the road) is a tone-setter for his teammates.
As Justin Rogers of Detroit Football Network reminds us, Goff was garnering some MVP buzz at this same point last season when the Lions started 5-1. Then he had a rough stretch of games that took that buzz away rather quickly.
Goff started this season in closer proximity to the MVP conversation, and as of Sunday night he now has the fourth-best odds to win the award on FanDuel Sportsbook (+650).
Jared Goff is naturally grabbing some MVP buzz
After Sunday's win over the Vikings, a lot of postgame reaction articles couldn't go without mentioning three letters around Goff's name.
Here's Connor Orr of SI.com, in talking about Goff being "cool and resilient" during Sunday's game.
"Cool and resilient. You know, the kind of makeup that should have us more seriously examining his MVP candidacy now that the Lions have edged one of the NFL’s two remaining unbeaten teams and taken back the top spot in the NFC standings."
Albert Breer of The MMQB led his Week 7 takeaways with "Jared Goff is an MVP candidate", as he tapped into memories of a conversation he had with Lions head coach Dan Campbell a couple years ago. Talking to Campbell after Sunday's game, Breer brought up the idea of Goff winning MVP.
“You’re not going to hear me disagree with that,” Campbell says. “I’m not going to fight you.”
John Breech of CBS Sports gave the Lions what seems a low grade for their performance against the Vikings (B+), but he also acknowledged Goff's MVP candidacy.
"It might be time to put Jared Goff in the MVP conversation. For the third straight game, Goff had a QB rating above 140, and he did that by completing 22 of 25 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns. He faced some serious pressure, but still came up with several big throws."
Potential local media bias can always be noted. But "Costa and Jensen with Heather" on 97.1 The Ticket landed on the punchline when it comes to Goff's status as an MVP candidate during Monday's show, in comparison to the quarterback of the league's only remaining unbeaten team.
Monday Morning Overreactions: "Jared Goff is the MVP of the NFL."
— 97.1 The Ticket: (@971theticketxyt) October 21, 2024
"Goff is on one of the two best teams, and he’s playing better than Mahomes."
"He is certainly an MVP candidate. I don’t think it’s an overreaction at all."
🔊🔊: https://t.co/FvVxXfT0lt pic.twitter.com/OuEk2jAR6t
The NFL MVP award is a quarterback award at this point, unless someone at another position literally sets or approaches historical records. Goff is playing better than any quarterback in the league right now, so he's automatically entering the conversation in a prominent way as the Lions stack wins.