With a 5-1 start to the season, Lions coach Dan Campbell often credits complementary football when the offense, defense and special teams all step up.
No argument here.
Still, quarterback Jared Goff has been playing lights out. He’s not doing it alone, but he’s accomplishing feats that are remarkable.
“I guess I’m just not surprised, I guess is the best way to say it. I hear these numbers and yeah, he’s playing good. He’s a good quarterback,’’ Campbell said on Monday. “I don’t see this like I’m blown away, I expect that from him. He’s playing at a high level. There are so many little things he does.’’
In the 31-29 win at the Vikings on Sunday, Goff completed 22-of-25 passes (88.0 percent) for 280 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions for a 140.0 passer rating.
“We put a ton on his plate this week – we put a ton mentally. We asked him to do so much particularly on third down because it’s such a unique defensive scheme that we faced and the amount of pressure and he handled it so good,’’ Campbell said. “Because of that, that helps the rest of the team, it helps the rest of the offense perform at a high level. To me, that’s him.’’
With such stellar play, Goff has worked himself into the conversation for NFL MVP.
Statistics don’t tell the whole story – as ESPN analyst Booger McFarland said, “Stats are like bikinis. They show some things but not all things.”
Stats don’t show the heart, the fire in the belly and the ice in the veins. Nonetheless Goff is putting up the numbers.
The Lions offense is the only team with more offensive touchdowns (18) than incompletions (16) in a four-game span since the merger. Think about that.
— In any four-game span in NFL history, Goff is the only one to produce a completion percentage of 80.0 percent and a passer rating of 140.0.
— In each of his last four games, Goff has completed at least 72.0 percent of his passes, thrown for two touchdowns and posted a passer rating of 110.0. The only other player to have a four-game streak with these numbers in a single season was Tom Brady in 2007.
Not done yet:
— Goff is the fourth quarterback in NFL history to produce a passer rating of 140.0-or-higher in three-straight games, joining: Aaron Rodgers (2011), Kurt Warner (1999) and Roger Staubach (1971).
— Oh, and at the Vikings, Goff tied the franchise single-game completion percentage record (88.0 percent) in a game with at least 25 attempts.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Campbell was asked about critical comments from Chris Christie following the Lions 47-9 rout at Dallas a week ago. The coach smiled, shook his head and said: “The last time someone called me classless I was drinking wine from the bottle.”
UP NEXT: Tennessee Titans (1-5) at Lions (5-1), 1 p.m. on Sunday at Ford Field.
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