Getty Jared Goff jogs on the field before a Lions game in 2021 against Cincinnati.
Jared Goff struggled for the Detroit Lions in a Week 6 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals enough that his coach called him out following the game. Does that mean a quarterback controversy suddenly is on the way in Motown?
Not necessarily. While Goff was certainly part of the team’s problem during Sunday’s 34-11 loss, he is far from the only issue the team has at the moment. That fact alone could mean that the Lions don’t view Goff as the only problem and a reason for all of their troubles on the field enough to warrant replacement.
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Speaking on NFL Network on Monday, October 18, analyst Tom Pelissero explained why he doesn’t believe the team is gearing up to replace Goff on the field. The reason, as he put it, has to do with not only the team Goff is working with but the finances of his contract.
No, the #Lions aren’t benching Jared Goff. And there are a lot of other reasons the offense is struggling in an 0-6 start. @nflnetwork
“The Lions are not benching Jared Goff and Jared Goff is not the sole reason they are struggling on offense right now and off to this 0-6 start,” Pelissero said in the clip. “They have had penalties. They have had missed assignments. They are obviously short-handed along the offensive line as well as at wide receiver. There’s a lot they need to clean up before they consider any type of major changes, particularly benching their quarterback. Let’s also remember this, part of the reason the Rams were able to pull off the Matthew Stafford trade with Detroit was that Detroit agreed to take on Jared Goff’s full contract. That means $25 million dollars fully-guaranteed this year and $26 million dollars that the Lions still owe Goff fully-guaranteed next year. The Rams did pay a little of that money in a bonus, but bottom line, they are committed financially to Jared Goff through 2022 which makes it that much harder to believe that after six games they’re going to change course here.”
Besides that, the lions don’t have a proven commodity to replace Goff on the roster at this point. Current backup quarterback David Blough has started five games in his Detroit career and has thrown 4 touchdowns to 7 interception with just 1,033 yards passing. It isn’t a slam-dunk to say Blough would be any better than Goff right now or give the team a better chance to win, and certainly, the quarterback could be worse with the limited weapons the Lions currently have to offer.
With all this in mind, it’s becoming pretty clear that any fans hoping for a change can likely keep on hoping in the weeks ahead.
Campbell Speaks on Potential for Quarterback Change
Naturally, with the struggles of Goff playing out in real-time for the offense in such a visceral fashion in Week 6, folks have begun to wonder whether or not a change could be coming at quarterback, with Detroit perhaps shifting to backup David Blough. In spite of Campbell’s words about the offense, though, it doesn’t seem like a change is coming on the field, at least right now. During the press conference, Campbell explained that it wasn’t an option at this point.
Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press explained that Campbell admitted there wasn’t going to be a quarterback switch when speaking to the media on October 17, and the troubles of the offense were varied and shared by everyone.
Campbell said that wasn’t/isn’t a consideration for now. He was critical of Goff but said the offensive struggles are shared by everyone right now
While folks might be frustrated with Goff, it’s obvious that inserting Blough probably wouldn’t change much for the Lions. The team has injuries up front for the offensive line and also at wideout. This is combining to make life tough on the Lions no matter who is under center.
Campbell might not be inclined to switch off of Goff at this point whatsoever even though he believes the quarterback can make more winning plays on the field.
Campbell Explains How Multiple Mistakes Are Hurting Lions Offense
Much like Pelissero, Campbell seemed more ready to look at the whole picture with regards to his team’s offense. As the coach was quick to point out when he met with the media on Monday, October 18, he believes some negative momentum hurt the Lions in a big way on that side of the ball in Week 6, and it was due in-part to some of the mistakes and errors the team made during the game.
“Really, I’ve said this before. It’s no different than hey, you get some turnovers or you turn the ball over. It becomes contagious. When you make mental errors or penalties, offensively we started to feed off of each other for that negatively,” he said. “It snowballed and it just crushed us. We have to be able to stamp that stuff out and find a way to hang in there to where we can stay within the game plan if you will.”
Bad starts and mental mistakes have forced the Lions to shift their game plan which is better suited to running the ball with quick or shorter passes. Instead, the Lions have had to go vertical with a dinged-up offensive line and inconsistent wide receivers. While he’s certainly had his own problems figuring in, that hasn’t helped in putting Goff in the best place to succeed.
Add it all up and it certainly doesn’t seem like the Lions are plotting a change in the coming weeks with their new quarterback thanks to what has happened so far on the field all things considered.
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