-
Eric Woodyard, ESPNOct 20, 2024, 06:50 PM ET
- Eric Woodyard covers the Detroit Lions for ESPN. He joined ESPN in September 2019 as an NBA reporter dedicated to the Midwest region before switching to his current role in April 2021. The Flint, Mich. native is a graduate of Western Michigan University and has authored/co-authored three books: “Wasted, Ethan’s Talent Search” and “All In: The Kelvin Torbert Story”. He is a proud parent of one son, Ethan. You can follow him on Twitter: @E_Woodyard
MINNEAPOLIS — With two minutes remaining, inside a hostile environment at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Detroit Lions trailed by one, but veteran quarterback Jared Goff maintained his composure.
He commanded the offense on Detroit’s final eight-play drive to set up kicker Jake Bates for a game-winning 44-yard field goal, as the Lions defeated the Vikings 31-29 to hand divisional rival Minnesota its first loss of the season.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell has grown to expect those types of performances from the former No. 1 overall pick. And after Detroit’s first victory over a 5-0 team or better since exactly half a century ago to the day, Campbell described Goff as a “stud” and “somebody you can build around.” On Oct. 20, 1974, Detroit also beat the 5-0 Vikings in Minnesota, also in comeback fashion.
“He’s a winner. He will find a way to win,” Campbell said of Goff. “He’ll find a way to put the offense in position to win the game. He doesn’t get frazzled. He’s tough. He’s competitive. And he’s reliable. Man, I love the guy. Once again, he steps up huge for us on the road in a division game.”
Editor’s Picks
1 Related
The Lions got off to a rough start, trailing 10-0 in the first quarter, but Goff was a perfect 12-of-12 in the first half as he helped the Lions rally back.
Goff is the only quarterback this season to have a perfect completion percentage in a half and he has done it three times, per ESPN Research, including an NFL record-setting performance in Week 4 where he completed all 18 of his passes against Seattle.
His first incompletion of Sunday’s game was the result of a batted pass, after starting the game with 15 successful completions versus Minnesota.
Goff would end 22-for-25 with two touchdowns and zero interceptions versus the Vikings while becoming the first player since 1933 to complete 85% of his passes with two passing touchdowns against a team 5-0 or better, but Goff wasn’t aware in real time.
“See, the word perfect is hard. It’s a perfect completion percentage, but there’s still decisions that you can change. I felt like I thought I had a chance at it again,” Goff said. “Like I felt like halfway through the third, I couldn’t think of one. Of course, right after that, the ball gets batted down. But beside the point. We’re getting guys open, protecting well, hitting them in stride. It’s one play after another, focusing on each play one play at a time.”
In his last four games, Goff has an 83.5% completion percentage, setting the NFL record for the highest completion percentage over any four-game span in NFL history (minimum 90 attempts). He broke the previous record set by Washington Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels earlier this season at 82.1% while joining Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (2008) as the second quarterback in NFL history to throw for 1,000 yards while completing 80% of their passes in a four-game span. Manning would win MVP that season.
Goff couldn’t pinpoint one specific thing for his accuracy and solid passing numbers, other than being dialed in right now.
“I say composure. Mostly toward the offense. There’s a lot of stuff going on. They do a lot of things. They blitz. They want to pressure,” Goff said of the Vikings. “They want to apply the pressure. For us, it was go down 10-0 and we’re kind of getting kicked in the mouth a bit. Stay calm, stay relaxed. We have the fumble they score on. Stay calm, stay relaxed. It really came in handy for us.”
Following Detroit’s latest victory, the team blasted Lil Yachty’s “Minnesota” song inside the visitor’s locker room while celebrating.
The defense rallied together for star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, who watched from the couch after suffering a broken tibia and fibula in Week 6 at Dallas. Lions’ linebacker Alex Anzalone said he received a congratulatory text message during the game from Hutchinson but as tough as the road remains ahead without him, the Lions still sees themselves among the top of the league.
“I always feel like we’re the most dangerous team because I feel like nobody really plays how we play,” Lions safety Kerby Joseph said. “We play with violence. I feel like we live in the deep end. I feel like a lot of teams live in the shallow waters, but we thrive in the deep end.”
