Jared Goff’s start to the season has been impossible to ignore, and now he’s sitting atop a new quarterback ranking after six weeks of spotless play.
The Lions veteran has opened 2026 with 14 touchdown passes, 1,788 passing yards and not a single interception. That puts him in rare company: he’s only the second quarterback in NFL history to throw that many touchdowns without an interception through the first six games of a season. The other was Russell Wilson, who did it in 2019 with the Seattle Seahawks.
Goff’s numbers have him leading all quarterbacks in passer rating at 112.5, passing yards per game at 298.0 and passing first downs per game at 14.67. He also carries the sixth-best Pro Football Focus overall grade among qualified passers at 82.1.
That kind of production has pushed him into the spotlight across the league, and CBS Sports’ Garrett Podell reflected that by slotting Goff at No. 1 in his Week 8 quarterback rankings.
Podell moved Goff up from No. 3, with the quarterback’s interception-free stretch playing a major role in the jump. As he mentioned, “Goff's 223 throws without an interception are the most through the first six games of a season in NFL history.”
Podell said that wasn’t the only factor behind the top ranking. After Goff’s late win over Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers, Podell pointed to his efficiency in advanced metrics as well.
He added, “Fresh off winning his duel with Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers at the last second, Goff also ranks second in expected points added (EPA) per dropback (0.29), just one one-hundredth behind Josh Allen (0.30). However, Goff has been the much better passer this season, which gets him the nod for the top spot entering Week 8.”
The strong start has also placed Goff in the MVP conversation. Another big performance and a win against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday could keep that momentum rolling and push him even closer to the league’s early MVP frontrunners.
Goff and the Lions are scheduled to face Kyler Murray and the Vikings on Sunday at 1 p.m. (EST) at Ford Field.
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