Getty Jared Goff during the Lions game against Minnesota in 2021.
Amid their tough start to the 2021 season, the Detroit Lions have had plenty of problems, and a big one starting to emerge could be the play of their quarterback Jared Goff.
Goff, while far from the biggest problem on the team thus far, has also proven to be a bit of a liability to the offense lately in terms of his turnovers. That was once again the case in Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings, where Goff fumbled once, threw an interception and was inconsistent at best throwing the ball overall on the afternoon.
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That game left some fans downright livid about the quarterback and where he is trending with the team, and naturally, folks headed right for Twitter to take out their frustrations about the play of Goff. Many folks want to know when the benching is coming for the team.
So, if Goff isn’t winning you games, and is hurting your team while doing nothing special….. When is the benching?
Even though a benching isn’t likely to come soon, some folks have to humor about the situation, using a maligned former Detroit general manager to make their point.
A big topic for many after the offseason trade was Goff’s reputation as a winner in the league. At this point, though, folks don’t believe that is helping the Lions much at all.
Waiting for Goff’s playoff wins to kick in and make the Lions better
Will David Blough ever get a shot? It’s something that some folks want to see happen at this point given some of the struggles of Goff early on with the football.
Some are even having a painful experience watch Goff try to lead the offense for Detroit.
Watching Jared Goff play football is painful
It’s fair to remember the Vikings have a solid defense given they only give up 253 yards per-game and also have collected 13 sacks coming into the game. They put the full measure of that experience on display in frustrating Goff and Detroit’s fans.
Examining Goff’s Potential Future With Lions
While many fans might be frustrated by Goff, it’s not likely he is going anywhere as the team’s starter in 2021. David Blough is a backup, and Goff remains the team’s best chance to compete in games regardless of what many say or think. In terms of 2022 and beyond, things are much more open for Goff and the Lions in terms of future. The Lions could elect to find a quarterback and groom him behind Goff for the future. They could also elect to try and get Goff more weaponry considering how the team hasn’t had a lot of that at wide receiver for this season.
Many could be frustrated with Goff, but it doesn’t seem he is going anywhere right now no matter how he might perform.
Goff Feels Lions Mindset Remains Good Despite Losses
It’s clear Goff is not giving up. Speaking with the media after practice on Wednesday, October 6, Goff was asked about the mindset of the struggling Detroit Lions. As he said, he sees a big difference between the outlook of the 0-4 Lions and the Rams when they were in a similar spot years ago.
“My rookie year we were on a tough team and it seemed like as the season went on, we lost more games, you start (going down) mentally a little bit. I was young, I didn’t really know any better. Here, it doesn’t feel that way,” Goff said. “We have lost four in a row, but we do feel like we are improving, we are doing the right things in practice, we are making plays in the game. How can we make them more often? How can we eliminate those mistakes I spoke about after the game? How can we stop beating ourselves? (That’s) the bottom line and we’re getting there. It’s always a day at a time, it’s always one practice at a time, but I believe in these guys, I believe in Dan (Campbell), I believe in our coaches. I believe the pop will happen and hopefully the momentum starts from there.”
Goff realizes the importance a win could play in helping to rejuvenate the team mentally after some struggles, and as he said, the team continues to work hard even without seeing the fruits of their labor pay off, something which he takes as a major positive.
“I think any time you do feel the reward of hard work and the reward of doing the right thing in practice you’re incentivized to continue to do it. I think that’s been the most encouraging thing about our group so far is we haven’t tasted that reward and we’re still doing the right things,” Goff explained. “We’re still chopping wood. Again, it’s never a moral victory, but we have the right guys which is the encouraging part.”
Many fans are probably not interested in what Goff has to say given what has played out in between the lines in recent games.
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