Detroit Lions: If there were a week for Jared Goff to step up it’s this one

If there were ever a week for Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff to step up, it’s this upcoming Sunday.  The Lions head to Los Angeles to square off with an old friend in Matthew Stafford.

The former Lion signal-caller is off to a tremendous start pacing the Rams to an incredible 5-1 start to the 2021 season.  Although the Rams are 5-1, they still trail the undefeated Arizona Cardinals by a game in what is widely considered as the leagues’ strongest division this season.

It’s crazy to think that the San Francisco 49ers or Seattle Seahawks will, in all likelihood, compete for last in their division.

Following Sunday’s embarrassing loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell respectfully called out his starting quarterback Jared Goff stating he needs to step up and play better.

A straightforward statement the national media decided to run away with.

Hall Of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter blasted Campbell on Good Morning Football, calling him not a professional coach.  Carter claims Campbell is giving his players mixed feelings mentioning he can’t go up to the podium and speak off the cuff.  Carter went on to say one week; he’s (Campbell) crying the next you’re criticizing the most important player to your franchise.

This past Tuesday, Goff joined 97.1 The Ticket’s Karsch and Anderson show and mentioned he understood the message Campbell was trying to deliver and is ok with it.  Goff noted that he respects Campbell’s honesty and understands that he needs to look in the mirror and play better.

Cris Carter wasn’t the only media member with choice words for the Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff.

Former Detroit Lions running back Joique Bell, now a member of the Woodward Sports Network, said Goff is soft and not a Detroit quarterback.

Like most of us, Bell was very frustrated with Goff’s effort during Sunday’s loss to the Bengals.  Goff struggled to read the Bengals coverage, continued to miss wide-open receivers running the intermediate routes, and settled for all the check-downs.

Goff is supposed to be an accurate game manager; although he’s completing 66% of his passes, he’s only averaging 6.3 yards per attempt.  There are only two teams with a lower average, the Miami Dolphins at 6.0 and the Chicago Bears at 6.1 yards per attempt.

To give you a comparison, Matthew Stafford is averaging 9.2 yards per attempt in 2021.

The Detroit Lions don’t exactly have many dangerous pass-catching options, but targeting tight end T.J. Hockenson down the seam should open up the likes of Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Kalif Raymond down the field.

Goff often settling for D’Andre Swift isn’t a bad option but he seems to be going to the well far too often.  Swift already has made 34 receptions totaling 295 yards to go with just 214 rushing yards on 65 totes.

If Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff wants to win part of the fanbase back he needs to exceed expectations this weekend in Los Angeles.

Not many people are expecting the Detroit Lions to keep pace with Sean McVay’s high octane offense this weekend. Plus it expects to be tough sledding for Detroit’s offense against Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey.

Per WynnBET, the Rams are 14.5 point favorites heading into Sunday’s matchup.

Many are expecting to see Matthew Stafford ball out and break many of our hearts.  If Goff can find a way to stretch the field and move the chains on a regular basis in turn keeping the game within reach it will go a long way for some fans; others are gone from Goff’s camp and will never return.

Many fans were calling for David Blough last week, but with the Rams next on the docket for the Lions, it seemed the decision to bench Goff would only add fuel to the fire heading into this week if a change at quarterback is made, it won’t come until after the Week Seven matchup.

Let’s hope after being dumped by the Rams will light a fire under Goff and he comes out with a bit more determination this week than he’s had in weeks past.