Getty Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff appeared to challenge his teammates when talking to the media on November 7.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff isn’t quite sure what’s behind his recent spate of turnovers.
Goff threw 3 interceptions in a comeback win over the Chicago Bears on November 19, then followed it up with a career-worst 3 lost fumbles in the team’s Thanksgiving loss to the Green Bay Packers. Speaking to reporters after Thursday’s Week 12 game, Goff had four words to describe the recent struggles.
“No rhyme or reason,” Goff said, via Pro Football Talk.
Though the Lions were able to overcome the turnovers against the Bears on Sunday, they dropped another Thanksgiving game to the Packers to fall to 8-3. Goff took responsibility for his own struggles, but hinted that some came down to bad luck.
Is this a fumble or was Jared Goff’s arm moving forward with the ball?
The officials reviewed it and the play stands as a fumble.
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“I tend to look at them individually and see what I could have done better and sometimes there’s an answer and sometimes there isn’t,” Goff said. “But overall, yeah, it’s my job to take care of the football and I have to do a good job of it.”
Jared Goff Speaks Out
Goff said after Thursday’s game that his miscues were putting the team in tough situations, with two consecutive games of facing two-score deficits against divisional foes.
“The turnovers in the first half have certainly been a problem the last two games that put us behind and subsequently it’s part of the reason we lost today,’’ Goff said, via The Associated Press. “The efficiency and how well you’d like to play on offense can certainly go up. The last two games is not to our standard.”
After being dismantled in their first meeting, the Packers were aggressive from the outset in the rematch against the Lions. They went deep on the first play of the game, with quarterback Jordan Love finding receiver Christian Watson for a 53-yard bomb.
The Packers were aggressive on defense as well, keeping the pressure on Goff. The Lions quarterback, who was sacked 3 times and hit 12 times total, said after the game that he should have gotten rid of the ball quicker.
“I don’t blame our O-line as the reason for that at all,” Goff said. “I probably could’ve got rid of the ball a bit quicker on some of those as well.”
Dan Campbell Takes Responsibility for ‘Bad Call’
Goff was not the only member of the Lions to take responsibility for the loss to the Packers, as head coach Dan Campbell also blamed himself for calling an ill-fated fake punt in the third quarter.
The Lions were trailing by nine points and backed up to their own 23-yard line, but attempted to convert a first down on a sweep. The Packers snuffed out the play, taking over and scoring three plays later on a 16-yard touchdown pass.
After the game, Campbell said he should not have put his team in that situation.
“It’s a bad call,” Campbell said, via The Associated Press. “I shouldn’t have done that to those guys.”
The Lions have a chance to rebound on December 3 as they travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints. Heavy projections powered by Quarter4 give the Lions a 51% win probability in the game.