Jared Goff is doing his best Peyton Manning impression with an MVP charge that has the Detroit Lions dreaming of Super Bowl breakthrough.
When Goff was sent to Detroit in the trade that saw the Rams acquire Matt Stafford, the 2016 first overall pick was given to Detroit “to die” – in his own words.
Dan Campbell has the Detroit Lions on the march for a Super Bowl debutGetty
Not only is Goff surviving, he is thriving, capping an historic four-game stretch with victory against the previously unbeaten Minnesota Vikings and playing at a standard that places him in the company of only one other quarterback – Hall of Famer Peyton Manning.
“He’s playing fantastic,” six-year NFL veteran Jason Bell told talkSPORT this week.
“When you look at the resurgence of his career, you have to applaud him.
“Nobody knew Jared Goff was gonna look like this and be like this. Perfect fit for the team. Perfect fit for the city.
Since failing to score a touchdown in the Lions’ Week 2 defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Goff has recorded multiple passing scores in each of the past four games, his team going 4-0 in that span.
Goff has nine touchdowns to only one interception in the past month (as well as his maiden receiving score), but his statistics get even more impressive when you look deeper.
The Lions leader became just the second quarterback in history – after Manning – to throw for more than 1,000 yards with a completion percentage greater than 80% in a four-game stretch. Goff has thrown for 1,086 yards with a completion percentage of 84.6%.
But that’s not the only piece of history he’s managed. He also threw a perfect 18 from 18 in victory over Seattle and has become just the third quarterback in NFL history to go three consecutive games with a QB Rating of 140.0 or higher.
It’s been more than a decade since that feat was last achieved – by Aaron Rodgers in 2011 – after Kurt Warner (1999) and Roger Staubach (1971) did the same.
All three players either won MVP or the Super Bowl that same season.
Goff and the high powered Lions offense are rolling through the first seven weeksGetty
“The way he’s playing is outstanding,” Bell adds. “He is in the MVP conversation and this offense is clicking on all cylinders.
“I mean you can tell by the record of teams the week after they play them because all of them lose.
“That is a physical matchup and they are just dominant right now.
So is MVP where Goff is headed? The Lions went level with the Vikings atop the NFC North with their statement victory in Week 7, both teams now 5-1 while the Packers sit on their tails at 5-2.
Only the perfect Kansas City Chiefs hold an outright better record than the Lions and it’s their quarterback who could present the strongest competition in denying Goff an MVP.
According to Draftkings Sportsbook, Goff now has the fourth-best odds in the NFL to win MVP, behind only Lamar Jackson Patrick Mahomes, and Josh Allen.
Even to have his name listed alongside those three premiere signal-callers in the league, shows the epic progress Goff has made.
His first season as a Lion was promising, going 9-8 before improving to 12-5 the following campaign.
Now, he has his team 5-1 and chasing a first Super Bowl appearance in their franchise’s history – the Lions are one of only four teams to have never been to the Super Bowl.
Last year they came close, losing an NFC Championship thriller to the San Francisco 49ers, this year they will look to go one better.
It is also a chance for Goff himself to return to the big game.
Jared Goff’s LA Rams lost in the Super Bowl to the New England Patriots
The former No.1 pick has unfinished business in the ‘big game’ having fallen short with Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII against Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.
“You got to applaud everybody in the organization because to think Jared Goff could be this nobody thought that would happen when he left the Rams,” Bell concludes.
Goff still has a long way to challenge Manning in a meaningful way but he has the Lions playing as well as anyone right now and he has proved as much as anyone in that league that a player with a point to prove is a dangerous opponent.
An MVP is still on the table – as is a Super Bowl title.
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