ALLEN PARK -- Jared Goff isn’t letting last week’s brutal showing, the number of tipped passes or struggles to connect with his star wideout linger.
Goff had only five passes batted down at the line of scrimmage heading into the loss against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Detroit Lions quarterback watched Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter knock down five this past Sunday. The mighty Eagles interior defensive line duo said it was something they noticed about Goff’s throwing angle that made them think they could have a big day in that regard.
He said he didn’t see the comments from Carter and Davis, but that a member of the coaching staff mentioned it to him. Regardless of that, Goff isn’t concerned or rushing to change anything right now.
“If it continues to happen, sure,” Goff said on Wednesday. “Yeah, you would certainly look at something. But right now I consider that an outlier.
“They did a good job. Whatever it was, they did a good job. And tip your cap.”
Goff finished with the worst completion percentage of his career (37.8%). He completed only two passes across his final 18 attempts in the ugly 16-9 loss in Philadelphia.
He called the tape from that game “frustrating” and “no fun.” But there are bits and pieces to learn from along the way.
Another aspect he isn’t sweating is the usually automatic connection with star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Goff threw the ball St. Brown’s way 12 times, but they connected only twice.
The Lions were brutal on third and fourth down in the loss. They converted only three of 13 third-down attempts, striking out on all five fourth-down tries. To compound those issues, Goff targeted St. Brown seven times on third and fourth down, resulting in no catches. There were misfires, drops and bad timing dooming the duo on Sunday.
But, much like the tipped passes, Goff isn’t about to change anything or go into some heart-to-heart with his All-Pro wide receiver. He’s going to continue to feed St. Brown like he has the last four years.
“We’re good -- Again, I consider that an outlier for what we’ve done in our career together,” Goff said. “And you learn from it, you look at it. We talk about different ways we can get better. But, yeah, no like grand conversation about it now.”
And while all those misses were concerning. Neither Goff nor coach Dan Campbell is remiss in their response to the situation. The duo has led this high-powered offense in recent years, with St. Brown cementing himself as one of the most dependable receivers in the game for a couple of years running.
It’s going to be rare when St. Brown has only two catches. Throw in the fact that those were the second-most targets adds a unique element, no doubt. But this duo has banked more than enough goodwill to quell any lingering concerns.
St. Brown is second in the NFL with eight touchdown catches. He’s eighth in yards (735), sixth in catches (66) and targets (94), and is a back-to-back first-team All-Pro for a reason.
“I mean, that thing there, that’s a rarity that those two don’t connect,” Campbell said on Monday. “And so, I’m not even worried about that. That thing will -- we’re going to be fine there. That was, it was just the perfect storm, things just didn’t quite go the way we wanted them to, we were a little bit off in some areas. But I’m not worried about their connection; they’re going to be just fine.
“And both of those guys will be ready to roll, just like the rest of us are this week to get ready for the (New York) Giants.”
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