Shortly after Jared Goff was traded to Detroit, former Super Bowl winning executive Michael Lombardi said the Lions should go searching for his replacement. Specifically, Lombardi said the Lions would be doomed in cold-weather games with Goff under center, an obvious problem for a team in the NFC North.
And at the time, Lombardi had a point.
"If I were the GM of the Detroit Lions, have you ever watched Jared Goff play in cold weather. Have you looked at his numbers when he plays in less than 40 degrees? It's not good. We might have to go to Chicago, Green Bay, New York, we might have to go to some cold-weather place to play and I'm gonna be driving to the stadium worried like crazy about a guy that doesn't like to play in cold weather," Lombardi said.
Prior to coming to Detroit, Goff had played in seven career games with sub-40 temps and emerged with as many interceptions as touchdowns and a passer rating of 69.2. He didn't look much better in his first such game as a Lion, struggling through a 16-16 tie in Pittsburgh last season -- albeit while playing hurt.
Welcome to 2022.
While Goff isn't suddenly a gelid gunslinger, he's handled himself well this season in two cold-weather games. He went to Soldier Field in Week 10 where it was 34 degrees at kickoff and completed 19 passes for 236 yards, one touchdown and no picks to lift the Lions to a comeback win over the Bears. He went to MetLife Stadium a week later where it was 35 degrees with a bitter wind and completed 17 passes for 165 yards -- and no picks -- in the Lions' win over the Giants.
He returns to MetLife on Sunday to face the Jets. Expected conditions at kickoff: temperatures in the mid-to-high 30's with gusts up to 20 mph.
The Lions figure to lean hard on their run game against one of the best defenses in the NFL. But they'll need Goff to do some damage through the air, in much the same way he did against the Giants: big play here, big play there. It will help that he has a fully healthy cast of receivers, including three deep threats he was missing in his last trip to New Jersey: DJ Chark, Josh Reynolds and Jameson Williams.
Sunday will mark the 11th sub-40-degree game of Goff's career. His numbers overall still aren't great: eight touchdowns, seven picks and a passer rating of 74.3, plus five fumbles (only one lost). But if we just take the last five, dating back to the Rams' playoff run in 2020, the Cali kid has three touchdowns, no picks and rating of 93.0.
If he overcomes the cold again in a win over the Jets, Detroit will wrap him in a warm embrace.
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