The Patriots are not walking into Sunday’s game in Munich treating Jared Goff like some easy quarterback to live with.
That may be how the conversation goes in plenty of corners of the NFL, where Goff often gets pushed below the usual headliners when people stack up the league’s best passers. But New England’s coaching staff and defenders sound fully aware of what Detroit’s quarterback has been doing, and what he can do if a defense lets him settle in.
“I think Jared’s playing at a high level,” said head coach Mike Vrabel. “Continued the last three years, he’s been at a high level.”
The Lions have leaned on that steady play all season, and Goff has delivered. Detroit is 6-2, and the 32-year-old has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks in football.
Through eight games, he has completed 185 of 273 passes for 2,134 yards, 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions. On top of the traditional numbers, he has also shown up near the top of the league in advanced metrics such as EPA and CPOE.
He may not draw the same kind of attention as some of the quarterbacks usually mentioned at the top of the list, but New England sees a polished operator who keeps Detroit’s offense humming.
“The quarterback runs the show very well,” said defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr. “He gets them into plays for the whole unit, and he kind of has the freedom to do that.”
That freedom matters because Goff is throwing to a loaded group, and he has made the most of it. Jahmyr Gibbs leads the NFL in scrimmage yards, and Goff has also built strong chemistry with the rest of Detroit’s pass-catching talent.
“He’s an elite pocket passer,” linebacker Robert Spillane added. “He loves to step up in the middle of the pocket and deliver the ball downfield.
Really can do it all. First overall pick for a reason, who just continued throughout his career to show why he was a first overall pick.
Somebody who’s going to get the ball to all of his guys.”
Spillane and Kevin Byard both pointed to the same thing: Goff’s ability to spread the ball around and make defenses defend the full field. He may not be the same kind of big-play hunter the Patriots saw from Green Bay’s Jordan Love last week, but that doesn’t make him any less dangerous.
“He’s a great quarterback,” said safety Kevin Byard. “He does a great job when he’s able to stand in the middle of the pocket, he can fire across the middle of the field, deep, with obviously the weapons that they have with Jameson Williams, a guy who can stretch the field, and obviously Amon-Ra St.
Brown, who’s a guy who can work the middle of the field, work the intermediates and things like that. And Sam LaPorta’s a really good tight end.”
Spillane said the challenge is obvious.
“He loves [Jameson Williams] down the field. He loves Amon-Ra underneath, LaPorta all over the field,” added Spillane. “We know we have a huge challenge for us ahead.”
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