The Detroit Lions fell short in Week 1 to the Green Bay Packers, looking dreadful in their first game without Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn. There are many takeaways to discuss, but the performance of the offense was bad enough to cause concern.
After losing Frank Ragnow and Kevin Zeitler, despite retaining Jameson Williams for the foreseeable future, the offensive line was facing a lot of problems moving forward, creating additional pressure on the wide receiver room.
Quarterback Jared Goff, who played like an MVP candidate in 2024, made illustrative comments regarding what was a terrible performance in the trenches.
Lions QB Jared Goff Calls Out Offensive Line After Embarrassing Loss
It's worth noting that virtually no one on the Lions played a good game. That's fine, and Detroit should still expect to compete for an NFC Championship, but it's unacceptable nonetheless. Goff's comments say it all.
"There needs to be an urgency of improvement," Goff said after an awful 27-13 loss. He completed just 31 of 39 passes for 200 yards, suggesting that the offense is missing former offensive coordinator Johnson more than expected. That said, it's impossible to look at this game and come away with any takeaway other than that Goff's success was a product of his environment instead of suggestive of his actual NFL ability.
That may not be fair to him, but it may be. He's had Sean McVay and Johnson guiding him, and unless Goff proves that he can succeed without those particular playcallers, it'll be even more obvious that he was merely a vehicle for which his phenomenal coaches used.
He deserves to call out the offensive line, especially given the awful run blocking grades that bolstered the offense in recent years. If Goff doesn't have a good run game, he struggles. Everyone knows that, but the pass-blocking performance wasn't so bad that a quality signal caller couldn't overcome it. We've spent two years debating Patrick Mahomes' offensive line, and he still made the Super Bowl last year.
Goff has to be better; it's as simple as that. And that he's blaming his teammates not only suggests a lack of leadership and accountability, but it suggests a much larger problem for the Lions as well. Goff is a great locker room presence, but this is the worst possible way to respond to a loss.
Suddenly, it's time for Detroit to consider moving on. He's right to call out his offensive line; there's no harm in that. However, his lack of leadership is glaring in a key moment.