Since Ben Johnson was here, the Lions' offense has functioned with what Jared Goff calls "this perfect-play mentality." The idea is "to get into a premier play" on every snap based on what the defense is showing. It stems from Dan Campbell and flows through Goff, and hasn't changed under John Morton.
Reading and reacting to the defense before the snap is "very critical to what we do," Goff said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket, "because a lot of offenses just snap the ball and figure it out after the snap. Typically those are not the top-of-the-league (offenses). Sometimes they are. Sometimes there’s guys that can make that work.
"But the way we do it here is a lot of pre-snap adjustments, pre-snap thoughts, whether it’s me, Graham (Glasgow), shoot, even (Amon-Ra) St. Brown, the running backs, making different decisions pre-snap on what they want to do. There’s a lot that goes into it through the week that gets us prepared for Sunday and allows us, in our own way, to be a step ahead."
The Lions ran into one of the stoutest defensive fronts in the NFL last week. They beat the Browns by 24 because their own defense dominated and because they were the better team on third down. On their final drive of the game with starters on the field, the Lions faced 3rd and goal from the eight. Goff got to the line, saw Cleveland was blitzing a safety up the middle and killed the play the Lions had called in the huddle.
If you rewind to the previous drive, Goff said after the game, the Browns brought a similar pressure on another third down. Goff erred by checking into a protection that left tight end Sam LaPorta one-on-one with Myles Garrett, "which is really ill-advised, which is on me, and why he was able to hit me as the ball came out," Goff said. The Lions were forced to punt. Next time, Goff was ready.
"It was third down and they were bringing a zero blitz right up the middle," Goff said Tuesday. "It’s something they’ve done and something I remember from the week of prep."
He checked into a wide receiver screen to get the ball out quickly to St. Brown and to take advantage of an exposed secondary -- "and Saint did the rest," said Goff. With the help of a couple good blocks in space from Penei Sewell, St. Brown turned the corner and danced into the end zone for his second touchdown of the day.
After the game, Campbell went out of his way to credit Goff for getting the offense into "the perfect freaking play." That sort of quarterbacking is "next level," he said, "and that’s where our quarterback’s at right now. I don’t know if everybody sees those things, but man, that’s a game changer for us on offense."
"I like to think at this point in my career I should see that stuff, I should make those checks and it should be not a problem," said Goff. "But there is a little prep that goes into it and a lot of work. We have a whole week to prepare and I try to take a lot of pride in being able to recognize those looks and get us into a good play."
If you ask Goff where he's grown the most since arriving in Detroit, his acuity before the snap is typically where he points. He can diagnose a defense and organize an offense much more quickly than he could before. He has become less of a manager and more of an operator. His processing speed is elite. This is more important now than ever with the Lions skewing young up front and trying to replace a major piece of their offensive braintrust in Frank Ragnow.
Campbell will always deflect credit to Goff, but the coach has had a major hand in Goff's ability to own an offense. Adjusting protections, for example, was one of the very first challenges that Campbell brought to Goff when they teamed up in Detroit, knowing that Goff could handle it. Each year, Campbell and the Lions have consciously put more on his plate. Each year, Goff has asked for another helping.
"It’s impressive," Campbell said Tuesday. "I’m thankful that I’ve been able to be a part of this with him now since 2021 because I've been able to witness the growth. I’ve seen it first-hand. The way that he process the information that he’s given, that he gives to the players, the way that he sees the defense, makes alterations, audibles into things to get us in the perfect play, it really is now like having a coach running your offense out there on the field. That’s what we’ve stepped into with him and what he’s done, which is a credit to him, man. He works through it, he wants to freaking make corrections, he wants to be perfect, he wants to know the why, he wants to know, 'How can I be better? What is a better check here? What is the right thing to do?'"
This is year 10 for Goff, who for the third year in a row is playing better than ever. He played 69 games in five seasons with the Rams and won 42, with a passer rating of 91.5. He's played 69 games in five seasons with the Lions and won 42, with a passer rating of 100.9. His rating over the last three seasons is bested only by Lamar Jackson. Over the last four seasons, Patrick Mahomes is second in the NFL in passing yards and passing touchdowns. Goff is first.
"Here we go, man, he’s in the prime of his career, he’s played for a number of years and he continues to get better," said Campbell. "And that’s the essence of what we do in this league, man. Whether you’re a player or a coach, you should always keep trying to learn and grow and get better, and that’s where he’s at. And then the accuracy that he has is the icing on the cake. When you can run this offense and you can make the throws that he can make, I’m glad we got him, I can tell you that."
The Lions lead the NFL in scoring offense through four games, picking up where they left off last year. Johnson is gone, replaced by Morton. Ragnow is gone, replaced by Glasgow. Most of the talent remains. The constants are Campbell and Goff, running the offense one perfect play at a time.
"When the call comes in and we get the look we’re looking for and I’m able to either stay in the play that’s initially called or check to the second play that’s called in the huddle or the third play that I have in my back-pocket, and then it works, yeah," said Goff, "you do feel pretty good about it."