Over the course of practice last week, the Lions sharpened a particular play for a particular look from the Vikings. When they got it on Sunday, Jared Goff gave Amon-Ra St. Brown a thumbs up. The Vikings rushed six without a safety over the top, the Lions picked up the blitz by bringing receiver Tim Patrick into motion and Goff, said St. Brown, "set his feet — whatever he did back there in the pocket, his magic — and threw a great ball."
When the ball came down 35 yards later, St. Brown was in the end zone and the Lions were in front in an eventual 31-29 win in Minnesota.
"You’re ready for those cover-zero looks and as soon as you know they’re bringing ‘em," Goff said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket, "it’s game-on and you’re ready to throw a touchdown."
Goff went on to complete 22 of 25 passes for 280 yards, two touchdowns and no picks against the best defense in the most hostile environment the Lions have seen this year. He handled a bevy of exotic pressures with poise. He made the right checks, the right reads and the right throws and for the third time this season found himself in the third quarter with a perfect completion percentage. "Did I do it again?" Goff asked after the game. Flawless football is becoming his norm.
After a bumpy start, Goff is having the best year of his career. He leads the NFL in yards per attempt and ranks second in passer rating to reigning MVP Lamar Jackson. It's not too early to ponder that award. Goff just posted a rating of at least 140.0 for the third straight game; the last two quarterbacks to do that in a single season -- Aaron Rodgers in 2011 and Kurt Warner in 1999 -- went on to win MVP.
"I’m just not surprised, I guess is the best way to say it," Dan Campbell said Monday. "I hear these numbers and I’m just like, yeah, he’s playing good. He’s a good quarterback. I don’t really see this like I’m blown away. I expect that from him."
That right there is a tribute to Goff's growth in Detroit. He ditched the label of bridge quarterback about $212 million ago, but still gets tagged with certain flaws. Turnover Prone. Poor Under Pressure. (Immobile -- yeah right!) He's shedding those, too, the leader of one of the best offenses in the game for the third straight season. Over the past four games, during which time Goff is 76-for-91, the Lions have more touchdowns than Goff has incompletions. They are the only team to do that over a four-game span since ... the AFL-NFL merger.
In typically understated style, Goff said Tuesday that neither he nor the offense "is doing anything extraordinary or special." He did say that he's "playing extremely disciplined right now, I think that’s the crux of it." Earlier this season, Goff admitted to trying to do too much when he threw three picks and was fortunate not to have thrown more in the first two games. He led the Lions into Arizona the next week and was perfect in the first half. He found his rhythm, by taking what was given. He hasn't really lost it since.
"It was so much more of a reserved, clean game," Campbell said. "And I felt like that was his reset game. That got him back, he went the other way. You really felt like he was going to come out of that and find that perfect balance, and he’s done that and then some. It’s a credit to him, to Ben Johnson and Mark Brunell, but the guy is playing lights-out right now."
Turnover prone? Not these days. When defenses try to bait Goff into a bad throw, he's making the simple one -- and taking the yards that come with it. As he noted after Sunday's win, the Vikings like to play deep in the secondary and "try to steal" in-cutting routes with their safeties and linebackers. Goff was happy to check it down to Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery and let two of the Lions' best playmakers go to work.
"When you get them the ball in space, you find someone better than those two, so I’m very cognizant of that. When (the defense) gets depth, just keep feeding those guys underneath until they gave me the chance to throw it over their head," said Goff.
When they do, he's been making teams pay. While Goff is tied for 25th in the NFL in average depth of target, per Pro Football Focus, he's first with a career-high 9.2 yards per attempt. While he's tied for 27th in pass attempts of 20-plus yards, he's second on such throws in completion percentage and first with a rating of 135.4.
Playing smart is not always playing it safe. Goff believes in his arm. His best throw last week was his boldest, a bullet to St. Brown that traveled 25 yards in the air and beat two defenders to the spot to set up Detroit's game-winning field goal. If it arrives a half-second sooner, it probably sails over St. Brown's head; a half second later, it's likely picked.
"Once again, when it’s crunch time, his heart rate just levels out," Campbell said. "He doesn’t get frazzled and he makes big-time plays for us. I’m glad he’s with us. I’m glad he’s ours.”
Poor under pressure? That's always been the knock on Goff. He's combatted it by processing the field quickly and hanging in the pocket just long enough to find open receivers. When pressured on a season-high 51.7 percent of his drop-backs last week, per Next Gen Stats, Goff completed 10 of 11 passes, including a touchdown to Kalif Raymond with Taylor Decker getting driven into his lap. Goff's throw hit Raymond in stride and allowed him to race around a safety and into the end zone.
On throws under pressure this season, Goff leads the NFL in completion percentage and yards per attempt and ranks fifth in passer rating (95.4). He had a rating of 61.0 on such throws last season. It helps to play behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, which not only affords Goff time, but gives him the assurance to stay on his spot under duress. When he has at least 2.5 seconds to throw, he's first in the NFL in completion percentage, yards per attempt and passer rating (127.6).
"When you play behind really good O-lines, you get really comfortable and you get a really good idea of how long you have," Goff said. "And with our group up front, the group I’ve had in front of me for a few years now, it is a little bit different than the rest of the league where I do have that confidence in them and comfortability to sit in there and to know where my spot is in the pocket, and for us to be on the same page."
Goff is gutting teams every which way. It also helps to have a powerful rushing attack to set up the play-action, where Goff has been as lethal as ever. But Goff gets a lot of credit himself for the way he's operated the Lions' offense, especially last week against a mad-blitzing defense. The Lions "put a ton on his plate mentally," said Campbell, "particularly on third down." Goff handled it with ease, which "helps the rest of the offense perform at a high level."
"But just, to me," said Campbell, "that’s him."
Goff likewise says the Lions are "just doing what we should do." They're "attacking the defense" with "a ton of good players" and a really good scheme. Johnson is putting them in spots to succeed, and the Lions are making it look easy. It starts with their offensive line and flows through their quarterback, who's playing MVP-caliber football one game after the next.