On the Amazon Prime set after the Lions-Cowboys game in Week 14, Jared Goff was asked about the third-down crosser he threw to Jameson Williams that went for a long gain and a crucial first down late in Detroit's 44-30 win.
"We’ve had a lot of work on those," said Goff, "and he’s becoming as reliable a guy as I’ve ever had. I can rely on him in those big moments, he can make these plays. That third down was frickin' huge. He’s becoming the player that we know he can be."
For some perspective here, Goff has spent significant portions of his career throwing to two of the most reliable receivers of this generation in Amon-Ra St. Brown and Cooper Kupp. That he's putting Williams in this conversation is a major tribute to the growth of the 24-year-old over the past couple seasons.
There was a time not so long ago when Goff might have thought twice about targeting Williams in a critical situation, not that he'd ever admit this publicly. Goff often describes his most trusted pass-catchers as "friendly," guys who come back to the ball, or fight through contact at the catch, or know exactly when and where a pass is about to arrive.
And if we're all being honest, Williams' hands and route-running used to undermine his dependability. The drops were real. So were the misfires from Goff to Williams where their timing was a tick or two off. Williams still has lots of work to do, which is part of what excites the Lions about his development, but those issues are popping up less and less in his fourth season.
Goff said last week that his faith in Williams has "gradually grown" to where it is now, with "moments over the years that have led to that." But throughout this season specifically, said Goff, "you've seen him."
"The way he works, the way he wants to put in the work, wants to know what he can do better, what he can do on this, and then he shows up on Sundays like he has been the last handful of weeks, dude. It's like, him and St. Brown out there, who else do you want at receiver making those plays at the end of the game?" said Goff. "I’m lucky to have them both and he’s playing really well right now."
And that Sunday, Williams caught seven passes for 144 yards and a touchdown in the Lions' high-scoring loss to the Rams. His first catch was a deep crosser that went for 22 yards and might have gone to the end zone had Goff laid it out just a little further in front of him. A kid to his core, Wiliams popped up and pretended to wipe a booger from his nose and flick it down the field. (You just can't teach this stuff.)
His second catch came on a deep dig route that went for 25 yards on third and long. Goff let it rip as soon as Williams was entering his break; when he came out if it and turned his head, there it was. His third came on a little in-breaking route where Williams secured the catch through contact and picked up 14 yards. And his fourth, on the very next play late in the first half, was a 31-yard touchdown on a post route where Williams left a corner in the dust.
"You're not keeping up with him," Tom Brady said on the FOX broadcast, "when you're playing that outside leverage."
On the Lions' sideline, Dan Campbell raised a hand in the air and roared, receivers coach Scottie Montgomery popped out of a squat and pumped his fist and running backs coach Tashard Choice thrust both arms over his head and then punched the air in celebration. Campbell turned back briefly to Montgomery, who hit him with a business-like stare and appeared to say, Let's f**king go.
"Jared's my guy, man," Williams said last week, asked about his tightening connection with his quarterback. "And it's all part of the game. We work with each other, we build with each other, we basically live with each other, we see each other every day, we're in here working on our game, that's what we do. And bonds and relationship and friendship come with that. So it just gets better and closer every day."
The Lions would like to have the third quarter in Los Angeles back. Williams might like one more chance at what Goff said "would have been a miraculous catch if he had pulled it down." It was also a miraculous throw, Goff dropping a 50-yard dime on Williams' head while taking a huge hit from defensive tackle Kobie Turner. Williams was behind the defense on a go route -- "Got him," said Brady as Goff released the pass -- but got slightly tangled up with the corner chasing him and lost the ball as he hit the turf.
With the Lions down two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and needing points quickly, Goff hit Williams on a slant for 17 yards as the silver soles of Williams' cleats flashed in the SoFi lights -- "Man, this guy's electric going across the field," said Brady -- then went back to him for 16 more yards on the next play when Williams worked himself open as Goff ran away from pressure and snared a pass along the sideline while keeping both feet in bounds.
Brady, once more: "Oh my god. How do you stop him? You think he's going deep with that elite speed and he puts the brakes on, turns it into a deep comeback on the scramble drill, and great awareness on the sideline."
The only other throw on which Goff and Williams failed to connect came later that drive when Williams was all but tackled by a corner in the back of the end zone while trying to go up for the catch on a crossing route. Williams wanted and deserved pass interference, but didn't get it.
It was nevertheless another highly productive day for Williams, who's surging to the finish of what's been a stop-and-go season, in a stop-and-go career. He was held to two catches in three straight games in September, one catch in a win over the Bengals in early October, then shut out in wins over the Buccaneers and Giants. The goose eggs were unbecoming of a receiver who landed a three-year, $80 million extension at the outset of this season.
But in three games since the second blanking, Williams has caught 21 passes for 374 yards -- second most in the NFL over that stretch to Puka Nacua. He's up to 10th in the NFL in receiving with 936 yards. The rest of the receivers in the top 20 have an average of 110 targets so far; Williams is 42nd in the league with 81. He's second in the league to Alec Pierce of the Colts for the second year in a row in yards per catch.
Clearly, Williams is starting to fulfill the potential that compelled Brad Holmes and the Lions to trade up and draft him 12th overall three years ago. At the same time, Goff was asked Tuesday if there's even more Williams can give and said, "Oh, there's a lot more. He's just getting there."
"He’s matured a lot as a player and has come into his own now and is so reliable, so trustworthy," said Goff. "I've talked about it at length, but yeah, man, he’s got a lot of meat left on that bone for him."
Injuries, suspensions and inconsistency all contributed to Williams' stops in Detroit. He's full-go and all-gas now, with nothing holding him back.