The Detroit Lions weren't flawless in their season-opening win over the Kansas City Chiefs. But a win is a win, and you don't have to apologize for or put an asterisk by it due to who the Chiefs were missing. Quarterback Jared Goff acknowledged how the team didn't play its best but did enough to win.
Goff had a turnover-free against the Chiefs, and in some ways the game was a shining example of the things he does best. He was well-protected, sacked just once and hit only four times total. He even evaded pressure on a couple occasions.
It's well documented how Goff struggles when pressured. The eye test shows it, and data from The 33rd Team and Sports Info Solutions from last season backed it up.
Out of 33 quarterbacks who played at least 400 snaps in 2022, Goff was 30th in completion percentage (40.7 percent), 25th in quarterback rating (56.2) and tied for 20th in EPA (expected points added) per play (-0.41) when pressured. Even during his good stretch of play (Week 9-Week 18), per the same SIS/The 33rd Team data, his completion rate under pressure (37.8 percent) was last among 21 quarterbacks who played at least 400 snaps during that stretch.
Jared Goff was good when pressured by the Chiefs in Week 1
What qualifies as a quarterback pressure can be subjective and vary depending on the source. But deeper data in that area can still be telling.
According to Pro Football Focus (h/t to Pride of Detroit), Goff was pressured on 10 dropbacks against the Chiefs. On those dropbacks, he had an adjusted completion percentage of 75 percent, zero turnover-worthy plays, a 91.0 passer rating and an 82.4 passing grade. Those numbers are all markedly better than what he did last year when pressured, albeit obviously over a much smaller sample.
It's only one game, against a Chiefs' pass rush that was missing its best player (maybe you heard?). But Goff was solid when pressured in the season opener. That can only be considered a good thing, and ideally it's a sign he'll function better when he's pressured this year.