When he's playing well, many people wait for the other shoe to drop with Jared Goff and for his performance to fall off. Sometimes, it happens for a game or two and it invites questions about him. If you entertain said questions, people may call you a Goff hater. To his credit, he answered those questions after a stretch of lackluster games last year.
Goff had one of the best years of his career, statistically and otherwise, in 2023. He's obviously not going anywhere as the Lions' starting quarterback for the foreseeable future, and his performance isn't likely to fall off a cliff anytime soon.
But it will also be hard for Goff to notably surpass the numbers he put up last year. There's nothing wrong with saying that, and with the last couple seasons as a baseline he doesn't need to put up bigger numbers than that.
Reason Jared Goff may regress in 2024 keeps spotlight on one player
Leaving out rookies and some others, Garrett Podell of CBS Sports narrowed to 20 NFL quarterbacks poised to improve or regress this year.
Goff made the "most likely to regress" category, and the reasoning pointed at one player.
"Detroit's entire offensive core remains intact in 2024, but the Lions failed to add significant wide receiver talent opposite Amon-Ra St. Brown in the offseason. Second-Team All-Pro tight end Sam LaPorta makes for a strong second option, and they do have Jameson Williams entering Year 3, but the failure to find a reliable No. 3 in a tougher NFC North that includes a rising, young Green Bay Packers squad and a revitalized Chicago Bears group could lead to a Goff regression in 2024."
While Podell's words didn't do it very aggressively, pointing more toward the lack of a reliable No. 3 receiver as reason Goff might regress. But 97.1 The Ticket's "Karsch and Anderson Show" did spotlight Jameson Williams based on that premise.
A national outlet says #Lions QB Jared Goff is due to regress ... and "it offered a legitimate reason why that we have to ponder."
— 97.1 The Ticket: (@971theticketxyt) June 13, 2024
"This is where it’s vitally important for Jamo to take that leap. It’s not a small leap. It’s a big leap."
Listen here:https://t.co/Yuts1r3jPA
It's not breaking news that Williams is a pivotal player for the Lions this year, or that this is a pivotal year in his career. His emergence is also obviously important for his quarterback, and that's merely been pointed out-or reinforced, in light of the idea Goff has a chance to regress this year.