Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff has barely entered the top-five quarterback conversation for his entire career. He earned some accolades early on during his time with the Los Angeles Rams, but since he was traded to the Detroit Lions for what the Rams considered an upgrade in Matthew Stafford, Goff has generally been viewed as a second-, third- or even fourth-tier quarterback.
However, his work in rebuilding the Detroit Lions into a contender over the past six years has begun to turn some doubters into believers. Some pushed on anyway, giving people like former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson most of the credit. But even NFL executives and coaches have begun to consider Goff a top-10 quarterback in recent years.
However, he rarely gets mentioned among the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and Stafford.
But there’s something in the air this week.
Goff currently leads the NFL with a 112.5 passer rating. He is also first in passing yards per game, and adjusted yards gained per attempt. And perhaps most notably, Goff is the only quarterback with more than 120 pass attempts this year who has yet to throw an interception. His +14 touchdown-to-interception ratio is two ahead of the next closest quarterback (Burrow: 15 TDs, 3 INTs).
And so after dismantling an impressive Green Bay Packers defense last week, Goff is getting a ton of national attention that I can’t remember seeing in the past year.
At CBS Sports, Garrett Podell ranked Goff as the No. 1 quarterback in his weekly QB power rankings.
“His 14 touchdowns without an interception are also tied for most in NFL history over that span, with Russell Wilson in the 2019 season,” Podell wrote. “Prior to winning his duel with Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers in the last second, Goff also ranked second in expected points added (EPA) per dropback (0.29), just one hundred behind Josh Allen (0.30). However, Goff has been the better passer this season, with a nod for the top spot entering Week 8.”
Former NFL offensive lineman Mark Schlereth made a passionate argument that Goff is undoubtedly a top-five quarterback in this league on the OG Football Show:
“We were very impressed with the ability of guys to scramble and make plays and be off-schedule and scramble around and make a big throw up the middle. Jared Goff processes and he delivers. He’s very accurate and deadly,” Schlereth said.
Elsewhere, former NFL coach Jon Gruden—before the Packers game—went through a ton of surprising stats on what Goff accomplished before he turned 32 earlier this month:
On ESPN, the morning show “Get Up” had a full discussion on why Jared Goff is currently playing at an MVP level, led by former NFL coach Rex Ryan. Skip to the nine minute mark in the video belowwhere Dan Orlovsky, Domonique Foxworth, Ryan, and even Adam Schefter enter the conversation.
Finally, former NFL safety Ryan Clark called Goff’s performance “All-Pro level of play,” and also used the words MVP. He breaks down what makes him special:
Goff will have his biggest test of the season this week against the Minnesota Vikings’ top defense in the NFL. If he does ball out again, you better believe his MVP odds, which are still currently eighth in the NFL (+3000), are likely to be even shorter.