After throwing an interception against the Green Bay Packers in Week 9 last season, Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff did not throw an interception the rest of the season as the Lions (not coincidentally) won a lot of games. Since throwing 29 interceptions over his last two seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, it's been quite a streak of clean football for him.
Goff took that streak of 324 pass attempts without an interception into Thursday night's season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. Continuing that streak was going to be critical to any chance the Lions had to win, and he went out and got it done (22-for-35, 253 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions) in a 21-20 win for Detroit.
With that, Goff has now gone 359 consecutive attempts without an interception. He passed Derek Carr (332) for the fourth-longest streak in league history early against the Chiefs, then he passed Tom Brady for the third-longest (358) on his last pass attempt of the game.
Jared Goff was not intercepted Thursday and has now gone 359 consecutive passes without a pick. That’s now the 3rd-longest streak in NFL history. pic.twitter.com/cPMc48lfGf
— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) September 8, 2023
When could Jared Goff set the NFL record for pass attempts without an interception?
Goff needs 41 interception-less attempts to pass Brady for the second-longest streak in NFL history, and 44 to pass Aaron Rodgers for the longest. He has maintained an average of about 35 pass attempts per game going back to the start of last season. So he could get close in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks, then set the new record fairly early in Week 3 against the Atlanta Falcons.
Last year against the Seahawks, a 48-45 loss for the Lions and for whatever it's worth now, Goff went 26-for-39 for 378 yards with four touchdowns and one interception.
A streak without an interception like Goff's is a mix of (and a testament to) his command of the offense and his decision making, with a dab of good fortune. He's on the precipice of an NFL record, with seemingly a pretty good chance to own it sometime early in Week 3.