Jared Goff was double-gloved in Week 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles, and that should've been a harbinger of doom for Lions fans looking to see what this Detroit team is made up of against a Super Bowl contender.
In the cold and eventual snow-rain mix of Philadelphia, the Lions managed to post just nine points in a must-win game to retain control of the NFC North. Instead, the team finds themselves in third place in the division, sitting behind the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. The team still has one more game against both of those rivals.
Goff once again was out-played in a cold weather game, and continues to struggle this season behind this new offensive line and with some shaky accuracy that's leaving his top receiver out to dry.
Goff set to face the fire after Week 11 woes
Goff struggled against the Eagles' strong pass rush, returning to form from the Lions' loss to the Minnesota Vikings a few weeks ago. Every game that Detroit has played against a team with a defense like the Eagles or Vikings has resulted in the same flat performance from Goff.
He simply cannot handle pressure in the pocket, often throwing the ball away or completely missing open receivers in lieu of trying to force the ball to Amon-Ra St. Brown.
He did this once last night, when instead of hitting an open Brock Wright who was streaking into the end zone, he forced a pass into the back of the end zone to St. Brown, which led to an incompletion and a turnover on downs. Goff has to be more mature in his processing than that, especially with Dan Campbell calling plays and presumably making him more comfortable as a playmaker.
Goff finished up the night with a QBR of 9.5. That's his second-worst QBR while with the Lions, with his absolute worst coming back in 2022. That was in the darker days of his tenure with Detroit, making this rating even more stark.
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This team can only go so far as Goff can go. You can't reap the benefits of the weapons the Lions have in their arsenal on offense without Goff being more effective on the field, and he clearly cannot be effective unless everything is going nearly perfectly for him in the pocket and on the field.
We can also just not be worried about Detroit. They're unhealthy up front, and they're working through the kinks of a huge change at play-caller halfway through the season. We should trust that this team and regime has a plan to fix what's ailing them, and Goff, before things go off the rails.
One thing's for sure, though: Goff can't control the weather come January.