Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff had struggled in recent weeks with turnovers prior to the team’s Saturday night showdown against the Denver Broncos.
The veteran passer has been a key part of the team’s rebuild over the last two seasons, performing well enough to lead the organization to an 18-6 record over the last 24 games.
After struggling in prior games, Goff’s best was on display for the Lions Saturday.
He tied a career-high with five touchdowns and recorded a passer rating of 134.6 in the 42-17 win over the Broncos.
Though overshadowed at times by his struggles, Goff ranks statistically among the best quarterbacks in the league in a number of categories.
For this reason, Goff told 97.1 The Ticket Tuesday that his performance was not one to excessively celebrate.
“No, no. I’ve been playing well year, so just going to keep doing it and keep trying to win games,” he said.
On the season, the veteran passer has been one of the highest-graded by PFF. He currently ranks 10th in PFF’s passing grade with an 82.4 mark.
He also ranks top-10 in many stats. Among them, he places third in passing yards with 3,727, third in completions at 335 and tied for third in passing touchdowns with 26.
Goff is also sixth in quarterback rating at 98.2 and second in passing first downs with 185.
When he’s dialed in, the Lions offense has been nearly unstoppable.
This was evident when he led five straight touchdown drives against the Broncos.
This has carried over into the Lions’ offensive production, as their offense ranks third in the league in total yards and fifth in scoring. The unit also ranks sixth in offensive DVOA at 13.3%.
By limiting the turnovers and taking care of the ball, Goff maximizes the plethora of playmakers that Detroit has at its disposal.
“It’s easy to say you gotta take care of the football,” Dan Campbell said in his weekly radio interview.
“Human nature would tell you, ‘I need to dial back and go into a shell and be super conservative,’ which is the last thing you can do.
It’s the worst thing you can do.
I’ve said this before, he’s one of the biggest reasons that we’re sitting here with 10 wins.
So if you take that away from him, we’re not the same team.”
