Last time the Lions played the Packers, Jared Goff lost a career-high three fumbles against a relentless defensive line. Green Bay's best unit is even better this year.
With the Packers having pivoted to a 4-3 defense under new coordinator Jeff Hafley, getting after the quarterback is "their number one priority up front," Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said Thursday.
"They’ve got not just four, but eight guys up front that they just roll through constantly. They’re attacking, penetrating, stunts, games. Violent. So we’ve got our work cut out for us," said Johnson. "It’s going to take everybody."
That normally wouldn't pose a problem for the Lions and their elite offensive line. And perhaps Sunday won't be any different when they travel to Lambeau Field with first place in the division on the line. But the Packers overwhelmed the Lions up front when they won in Detroit last Thanksgiving, mounting 26 pressures on Goff -- most of his Lions tenure -- to go with three sacks and the three turnovers.
And the Lions' offensive line has been unusually leaky of late, allowing four sacks in each of the last two games. That's the first time that's happened to Goff since his first season in Detroit. The left side of the line was particularly guilty last week against the Titans, with missed blocks by Taylor Decker and Graham Glasgow. And Goff says he was guilty himself: "There’s things I can do to help with that as well, to make sure it’s better on my part moving forward."
"Just my depth in the pocket," Goff said Wednesday. "I gotta make sure I’m stepping up in the pocket and having good depth, and then getting rid of the ball on time. And then those guys know what they need to do, but they’ve been doing a pretty good job all year and I certainly have my part in it in keeping myself upright and getting the ball out of my hands.”
The Packers don't blitz often, instead relying on rushers like Rashan Gary, Preston Smith and Lukas Van Ness to win their one-on-one matchups. They also boast one of the fiercest interior duos in Kenny Clark and Devonte Wyatt, and their linebackers are fast and physical, led by Quay Walker and rookie Edgerrin Cooper. They're tied for eighth in the NFL in sacks and tied for seventh in pressure rate.
"They got a lot of good players, a good scheme, they pass rush well," said Goff. "It’s a good defense."
Goff has also been loose with the ball of late, with four fumbles in the last two games. He's been fortunate not to lose any of them, especially in Detroit's narrow win in Minnesota. With that in mind, Lions quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell has been on Goff in practice this week about "what it should look like in the pocket when we (face) pressure," said Johnson.
"Our sack numbers over the last four or five games have been higher than what we’ve grown to know over the last two years. It's something that we’ve talked about as a unit," said Johnson. "There’s ways that we can help out schematically to not put guys on so many one-on-one islands, so we do look at that every week."
Johnson also noted that Goff's patience in the pocket invites more pressure, a necessary evil of his willingness to get through his reads to avoid "putting the ball in harm’s way down the field"
"We may get a couple more sacks because he's holding onto the ball a little bit longer. That might be the result of that as well, just how we’re coaching Jared to play turnover-free ball," Johnson said. "But the sacks are a point of emphasis, particularly this week."
If the Lions can limit the damage, and by extension the turnovers, they'll be in good shape come Sunday.