Spurred by a mind meld with offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Jared Goff has been one of the most proficient quarterbacks in the NFL over the last three seasons. Of course Johnson is gone now, and John Morton is the Detroit Lions' new offensive coordinator.
Morton was part of the Lions' offensive staff in 2022, so he's not completely a new guy. Based on what head coach Dan Campbell said during the process, Goff had some input in Morton's hiring.
But, even if Lions' fans are sick of hearing it, there are questions about the coordinator change until we see what the offense looks like on the field. Morton is not reinventing what has been a very successful wheel, but he will surely have some different ways to do things and time will tell what that looks like.
ESPN analyst offers Jared Goff prediction Lions fans will hate
ESPN's Ben Solak has predicted who will lead the NFL in five notable stats when the 2025 season is over. Four of the stats are positive (passing yards, rushing yards, receiving yards and sacks), and the fifth is interceptions thrown.
With a projected 11 percent chance to do so, Solak has picked Goff to lead the league in interceptions thrown this season.
"Only Mahomes has more pass attempts over the past two seasons than Goff, who also does not scramble and keeps his sack rate decently low; that ball is coming out. Goff has 12 INTs in each of his past two seasons despite average interception rates (1.9% and 2.1%) simply because of the volume at which he throws the football."
"Now, the Lions are contending with a younger offensive line than Goff has enjoyed the past few seasons and a new offensive coordinator in John Morton. If the dropback total stays high, but the efficiency of the offense suffers a little bit, Goff should once again post double-digit picks. And what if the defense also steps back under a new coordinator, leaving Goff to throw himself out of more holes? He is a much better player than he was earlier in his career, but it's important to recall how low the floor can get with Goff when his coordinator situation is less than ideal."
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Along with the questions invited by a situation that has changed, Lions fans hate hearing how Goff is a limited quarterback who needs to be elevated by his situation.
But numbers don't lie, and no quarterback in the NFL's performance erodes as much when he's pressured compared to when he has a clean pocket. Last year, based on QBR when kept clean vs. when pressured, only Daniel Jones was worse. Jones started 10 games for the New York Giants last year before they waived him, and he's not company any quarterback wants to be in.
As well as he played, Goff was in the top-seven for most interceptions thrown in each of the last two seasons (with ties), including being tied for the fourth-most interceptions in the league last season. So if a few more plays go the wrong way this season, even just due to bad luck, a nightmarish prediction for the Lions' signal caller could come true.