If anyone can appreciate a comeback story, it's Jared Goff. And while he's not exactly rooting for an NFC North rival, Sam Darnold's emergence in Minnesota has "been tremendous," Goff said Wednesday. "It's been so fun to watch."
"I wish he was doing it in a different division, but he's a good player. He's a great player. He's been a great player for a long time and I love seeing guys getting chances where they can succeed, and he's certainly made the most of it," Goff said ahead of Sunday night's showdown with the Vikings.
On Thursday, Goff and Darnold were named to the NFC Pro Bowl team, along with Jayden Daniels of the Commanders. You could argue that Baker Mayfield should have made it over the rookie. Goff, Darnold and Mayfield are the NFC's top three quarterbacks this season in yards, touchdowns and passer rating, and all of them were abandoned by the teams that once selected them high in the draft.
Goff, the first overall pick in 2016, is a reject of the Rams who's shining in Detroit. Mayfield, the first overall pick in 2018, was dumped by the Browns only to become the face of the Bucs. Darnold, the third overall pick in 2018, is booming with the Vikings after busting with the Jets. Goff said he considers such quarterbacks kindred spirits -- even Matthew Stafford, another former top pick who's reached new heights with his second team.
Darnold's rise has been a particular surprise. He floundered in three seasons with the Jets, showed more of the same with the Panthers and by last season was a backup for the 49ers. The Vikings signed him to keep the seat warm for first-round pick J.J. McCarthy, their quarterback of the future. Then McCarthy tore his MCL in training camp, and now Darnold is having the season of his life.
Playing in a talented offense under a Coach of the Year candidate in Kevin O'Connell, Darnold has tossed 35 touchdowns to 12 picks and touts a passer rating of 106.4, nearly 30 points higher than his career rating entering this season. He has led the Vikings to a 14-2 record that matches the Lions for the best in the NFC. The North and the No. 1 seed will be decided Sunday night in Detroit.
"Seeing Sam have the success that he's having, he deserves it," said Goff. "He's a guy that kind of got -- I don't know, he'll never say it -- but he got the short end of the stick in New York and in Carolina. Now he's in a place with a lot of things around him that have helped him succeed. And that's every quarterback, that's not a slight by any means. That's every good quarterback in our league.
"When you get a team that's running an offense around you that's tailored for your skills, good things tend to happen, especially when you're a talented player like he is."
Is there a lesson here for NFL teams, especially those investing high draft picks into quarterbacks?
"It would be patience, but no one's got it and it's only getting less and less," said Goff. "No, I don't think anything is going to change. But he's certainly making a lot of people look foolish."
As Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said Thursday, "You’ve seen that with Baker Mayfield, you see it with him.
"There are some of these quarterbacks or players in this league that people just give up on so fast. Sometimes, the environment has a lot to do with that and I think that he’s gotten to an environment to where he can ‘Woosah,'" said Glenn -- that is, achieve a state of calm.
"And listen, O’Connell is a really good coach and when you get around that and you get around players that also believe in you, everything that you’ve built yourself up to be really starts to come out, and I think that’s what he’s doing right now," Glenn said. "He’s always had the talent."
Goff, by the way, played under O'Connell in his final season with the Rams when O'Connell was the team's offensive coordinator. Goff had fallen out of favor by then with Sean McVay, but said he "learned a ton from" O'Connell: "He was great for me. He always had my back and I'll appreciate him for that forever."
O'Connell took over the Vikings in 2022 and the team is 34-16 since, tied with the Ravens for fifth in the NFL. The Lions are 35-15. The two teams naturally staged a thriller in Week 7 in which both quarterbacks played well but Goff played better in Detroit's comeback win.
"Kevin's a hell of a coach, he really is," said Goff. "You've seen it every year he's been there, even last year when they were down some guys how well he coached that group and kept them together, and you see it again this year. Their success has been as good as anybody."
The Vikings slipped last season when they were down to second- and third-string quarterbacks, but still played competitively down the stretch. They're thriving again with a quarterback who might have been a first-stringer all along.
Goff and the Lions will try to stop them on Sunday. Darnold and the Vikings won't go down easy.
"Again, if he was doing it in the AFC or somewhere else, yeah, I'd be rooting the hell out of him," said Goff. "I'm very happy for his success. He's a hell of a player and a good guy that deserves what he's done."