It's not exactly breaking news, or hard to see, but Lions quarterback Jared Goff was pretty bad when under pressure last season.
For much of the 2022 season, Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff played well. At times with big numbers, other times just being efficient. But well nonetheless. He'll go into the 2023 season with a streak of 324 straight pass attempts without an interception, which spanned the last nine-plus games of last season.
But with that good play, at least at times, came the bad version of Goff. His home-road splits were notable last year, which is one thing. He was generally protected well by one of the best offensive lines in the league, but there were notable back-to-back duds (with the bye week in-between) against New England and Dallas on the road. In the case of the Dallas game, one less turnover at Goff's hands and the Lions may have won.
Jared Goff was simply awful when under pressure last season
The eye test has shown it for years. Goff is not a threat with his legs at all, and he's not functionally mobile in the pocket. When under pressure, as it truly is with any quarterback, the odds of a turnover go way up.
There is a difference between being blitzed and being pressured. Goff has shown himself to be a pretty prolific blitz beater, when knowing where your hot read is and getting the ball out of your hand takes center stage. But actually being under duress is another thing.
According to Sports Info Solutions and The 33rd Team, out of 33 quarterbacks who played at least 400 snaps last year, 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.
Goff faced pressure on 180 of his 587 pass attempts last year, good for a fairly low 30.1 percent rate. Among the aforementioned 33 quarterbacks who played at least 400 snaps last season, he was sacked tied for the sixth-fewest times (23).
The formula for getting Goff's best play is still clear. Have an effective run game, and protect him well. 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.