Interesting how much perceptions continue to diverge from reality with respect to Jared Goff.
I occasionally check in on my old Rams board. I see a post from a longtime poster in which he argues that JG belongs in a second QB tier of “guys who can do the job as long as they have good run game support. These are the QBs vying to jump into that top tier. One note is that some of these guys bring their own run game, and that extra dimension can put them into a first tier like Jackson for example whose ground threat dictates to defenses just like a run game. But there’s a lot of these guys, from Goff to Hurts to Mayfield etc.”
I’m curious: is this true? Obv the Lions have a powerful run game, prefer to play w/more run-pass balance than most teams, and rarely have had to depart from that over the last 2+ seasons.
But the few times they’ve had to rely heavily on the passing game, how has JG done? Can he “carry the team” offensively w/a near-exclusive reliance on the pass? Mind you, according to the poster, Stafford was tier one because “in any given game [he] can take it over no matter what is going on with the ground game”?
I looked at the three games over the past two seasons w/the lowest rushing totals: Bills this year (Lions: 48 yds rushing) and Bucs (40 yds) and last Vikings game last year (70 yds).
Bills: Goff went for 494 w/5 TDs w/no pix - while the Lions rushed for 48 yds total. Lions lose by 6.
Bucs: Goff threw for 2 scores and 380 yds, no pix, while getting 40 yds rushing in support? Lions win.
Vikings: 2 scores and no ints for Jared, 311 yds passing. Lions win.
Overall, they went 2-1 and Jared threw for 1,185 yds, 9 TDs, 0 ints while getting 158 yds in run support: 3 TDs, 0 ints, 395 yds passing per game.
We’d all prefer that the Lions don’t have to prove it from here on out, but I think it’s pretty clear that Jared and the pass game he can carry the team if need be.