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The Detroit Lions are pondering how to keep their offense churning in a positive direction after a solid Week 1 debut, and quarterback Jared Goff is a big focus.
Goff had an up and down day in his first game of the 2022 season, and while some may have been frustrated with his performance, it’s clear there are some positive takeaways which could see where Goff is trending.
As Justin Rogers of the Detroit News tweeted, some Next Gen stats show that Goff is trending in a positive direction, given his time to throw, expected completion percentage and average intended air yards.
“From NFL’s Next Gen stats: Jared Goff’s time to throw was quickest in the NFL. His average intended air yards were up 24.2% from 2021 and his expected completion percentage (factoring in drops) was 67.4%. Some positive signs in first game in a new scheme,” Rogers tweeted.
Goff had an up and down day, throwing for 21-37 for 215 yards and two touchdowns to one interception. Obviously, those numbers may not look impressive in a nutshell, but going deeper, it shows that the player is trending in a good direction.
The hope is Goff can continue to trend in the right direction for the future, and these stats offer a solid insight into how that is possible.
Interception Sets Poor Tone for Goff
Not only did Goff struggle early in the game, an interception was the cherry on top of a poor first half for the team and the quarterback.
Goff threw the ball right to cornerback James Bradberry, who took the ball to the house for an easy interception for a touchdown:
The erratic interception was perhaps the worst mistake that Goff has made on the afternoon. Other passes had come dangerously close to being picked off without actually being intercepted in the first half for the team.
Goff’s rebound, however, showed why fans may have been a bit too quick to snap judge about the team’s play at quarterback.
Goff’s Second-Half Rebound Impressed Dan Campbell
While Goff may have gotten off to a rough start in the first half, Dan Campbell talked about the way he was able to rebound and give the Lions a chance to win in the second half of the game.
As Campbell said when meeting with the media on Monday, September 12, Goff’s start was up and down thanks to the fact that some issues outside of his control impacted things around an untimely interception.
“Obviously, we had the turnover early in the game. We came out first drive, we’re moving it and then we have a communication error which isn’t on him and so we lose rhythm. We’re three and out. Then we come back the next time and and we don’t ID a protection very clean and now he feels like he’s under duress so that doesn’t help him get in rhythm,” Campbell said. “Then obviously the turnover, not being on the same page. So there was some rough moments early, but I loved the way that he responded in the second half to get us back into it. I thought he settled in and did some really good things and gave us a chance at the end.”
As a result of this, Campbell admitted that there was no question in his mind if Detroit got the ball back, they would be finding a way to score without a doubt in his mind.
“I was very confident when we get this ball back, we’re going to go down and win this game. Like, I felt very good about where we were at offensively with him, because I thought he was pretty good right there at the end of the game,” Campbell said of Goff.
With a bit of a better start, the Lions might be in better shape with Goff in Week 2. There’s a lot of reason to feel good about where he is trending after the season opener.
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