Eight weeks ago, Jared Goff threw five interceptions against the Texans -- on a night the Lions came back to win. In seven games since, Goff has been the best passer in the NFL.
His latest act came at "the scene of the crime," as Dan Campbell put it, on Monday Night Football at Levi's Stadium where Detroit's Super Bowl dreams were dashed last season. Goff had another near-perfect performance in the Lions' 40-34 win over the 49ers: 26 of 34 for 309 yards, three touchdowns and no picks.
"Goff played lights-out today," Campbell said. "And he’s been playing like this. I just feel like he took another step up, which is hard to believe with where he’s been playing."
Aside from the Texans game, Goff has basically been on a season-long heater. He's second in the NFL to Joe Burrow in passing yards, second to Lamar Jackson in passer rating and fourth to Burrow, Jackson and Baker Mayfield in touchdowns. He turned 30 in October and will enter the first year of his four-year, $212 million extension next season.
Goff has played well in the past, including two Pro Bowl seasons with the Rams and three years of stellar play for the Lions, "but this is a different Jared Goff now," said Campbell. "He's different."
"This guy has developed and matured and he’s just stepping into his prime. He just continues to get better and better, and he’s playing at an ultimate level right now," Campbell said. "Find me a quarterback who’s playing better than him in this league right now. I’d love to see it."
Such a quarterback doesn't exist. Since the Texans game, Goff leads the NFL in passing touchdowns (20), passing yards (331.1/game) and passer rating (121.9). He's thrown just one interception in that stretch. It's the best seven-game run of his career by passer rating; the only other run that comes close was earlier this season.
Asked after Monday's game if this is the best he's ever played, Goff said, "I feel good, I feel like we’re all playing at an elevated level right now on offense. I think the last handful of weeks -- even the Buffalo game we lost, we were scoring a ton of points -- we’ve been playing well on offense for quite some time and I feel like I’m just part of that."