Over three weeks, the Detroit Lions are averaging the third-most points per game (31.0). That includes the eighth-most passing yards (247.7), mostly thanks to Jared Goff's efficient and mistake-free football.
The Lions' quarterback is completing 70.6 percent of his passes, and that's despite having four of his passes dropped. If that wasn't impressive enough, he hasn't turned the ball over once, and his team is sitting on a 2-1 record.
Nevertheless, analysts still refuse to give him his flowers. In fact, Pro Football Focus just bumped him down two spots in its updated QB power rankings, moving him down to No. 15 after watching him throw for 269 yards, two scores, and no picks in Week 3.
Jared Goff's spot in PFF's power rankings makes no sense at all
"With a 79.4 PFF grade through the first three weeks of the season, Goff ranks 10th at the position. Like Young one spot above him, a big reason why he sits where he does is avoiding big mistakes, with his 0.8% turnover-worthy play rate trailing only Jayden Daniels and Young," PFF's Gordon McGuinness wrote.
So, let me get this straight. In the same breath, these guys are saying that Goff's grade is the tenth-best and that he has the third-best turnover-worthy play rate, yet somehow he's the 15th-best starting quarterback out of 32? Are they really moving him down two spots after a flawless game and a win? Make it make sense.
This is just another example of lazy takes and people already making up their minds about a player. For whatever reason, they've already decided Jared Goff is a mid-tier quarterback, so they will ignore facts, numbers, and the tape and find anything to justify their discourse.
Goff might not be the flashiest guy out there, but he's someone who gets the job done, a pure pocket passer, and a much tougher player than some people give him credit for. He's not a product of Ben Johnson and Sean McVay; he actually makes those offenses better because of his ability to make pre-snap checks, hit his receivers in stride, and operate with impressive timing.
He's still a victim of his early-career struggles. Expectations will always be higher as a former No. 1 pick, and it feels like some people are still fixated on his no-show in the Super Bowl and the fact that the Los Angeles Rams traded him shortly after.
This is also a tax that comes with playing for a franchise like the Lions. Again, people make up their minds about certain teams and players, and it just doesn't matter what they do; they'll never get enough recognition because of those notions.
Fortunately, Goff has never batted an eye at that type of stuff. He'll just put his head down and continue to get to work, knowing he's not getting paid to appease talking heads and hot-take specialists.
Even so, PFF's rankings were so baffling that not even they could justify his spot with any sort of logic or valid argument. It was just vibes-based.
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