Jared Goff and Dan Campbell came to the same conclusion after reflecting on Goff's performance in the Lions' Week 2 loss to the Bucs. Echoing his coach, Goff acknowledged Wednesday that "I have to do a better job of taking care of (the ball) in some of those spots and not trying to do too much in some ways, and just being a little bit more disciplined on my part."
The veteran quarterback threw two interceptions, the second on an ill-advised pass at a critical juncture of the fourth quarter. He was fortunate he didn't throw more -- though just as unfortunate that his first pick was the product of a missed pass interference call on Jameson Williams. So it goes.
As Campbell told Goff upon reviewing the film, there were a few instances where Goff was "trying to keep the play alive a little longer than need be, just a couple of things there that I felt like didn't help us." Goff is at his best when he's playing within himself as a pocket passer, rather than trying to create throwing windows that aren't there, especially under pressure.
Asked about those plays where he was "trying to do too much," Goff said that "there was a couple that I got away with where I was about to take a sack and I just tried to get rid of the ball."
The second pick was obviously one of them. With the Lions well within field goal range, Goff flung a back-foot pass toward the end zone with a couple defenders bearing down on him. He thought Amon-Ra St. Brown might break toward the middle of the field to make a play on it, but the ball landed in the hands of safety Christian Izien without a Lions receiver in the general vicinity.
"It's dumb, it's really stupid," said Goff. "I'm about to get sacked, and unless I can get the ball out of bounds, I need to eat it. I need to take it with me and take a sack and let the play end. I think I'm so conscious sometimes of not taking a sack, not taking negative plays that I allow that to override the ball security, and that can never happen. That's gotta be the first priority."
Another such throw was a shot down the sideline to St. Brown on 2nd down near midfield in the second quarter. "Yep," said Goff. Again under pressure, he tried to hit St. Brown on an out route 25 yards down the field. The ball never had a chance of getting there. The only person who had a chance of catching it was safety Jordan Whitehead, who dropped it on his way to the ground.
"Probably should have been picked and it wasn't," said Goff. "I got lucky. Now, I'm gonna get lucky, I'm gonna get unlucky. By the end of my career it will even out."
It was an uncharacteristic day for Goff, who also got away with a couple near interceptions in the Lions' season-opening win over the Rams. (If cornerback Cobie Durant comes down with a ball that was in his hands late in the fourth quarter, the Lions are probably 0-2.) Ball security has been one of his clear strengths in Detroit.
Since offensive coordinator Ben Johnson took over the Lions' passing game midway through the 2021 season, Goff has thrown 71 touchdowns to 24 interceptions, the second best TD-to-INT ratio in the NFL (among QB's who have attempted at least 1,000 passes). Only Joe Burrow has been better.
So was it "uncharacteristic of us," said Goff, for the Lions to go 1-for-7 in the red zone against the Bucs, which is why they managed just 16 points on a day they racked up 463 yards. The Lions ranked third in red zone offense last year, fourth the year before that. They should progress to their own mean as the season unfolds, so long as Goff does "a better job of keeping us on the field and not putting the ball in harms way," he said.
The Lions should feel good about Goff and their offense entering Sunday's game against the Cardinals. They haven't lost back to back games in nearly two years, dating back to November of 2022. In the seven games immediately following a loss during that stretch, Goff has thrown 13 touchdowns to two interceptions and has a passer rating of 110.69.
"I have a short memory," he said. "I have to. You win, you play well, you come back Monday, you watch it, you learn from it, and you move on. It’s the same thing after a loss. I know externally it tends to stew more when there’s a loss and it bleeds late into the week, but for us, it’s truly gone on Monday.”