The Detroit Lions sit in fifth place in the NFC standings after seven weeks. They dismantled the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a dominating show of force and kept a potential Most Valuable Player candidate in Baker Mayfield contained. The team looked incredible, but quarterback Jared Goff looked unsettled.
On paper, his stat line from the Tampa Bay game is fine. He completed 20-29 passes, threw for 241 yards, and scored a touchdown. He was also sacked four times, lost a fumble, and threw an interception. He seemed to negate whatever positives he generated. Now, part of that is due to the Buccaneers being a good team. The other part is just Goff's mistakes.
The thing is, Goff has been good for the Lions. Very good in fact. He's been so good that many have him in the MVP race. Rightfully so. So you'd think if Goff had an off day, which is happening a bit too often for our liking, that the Lions would fall apart. Except that isn't the case anymore. Against Tampa Bay, the Lions saw Jahmyr Gibbs rush for 136 yards and score two touchdowns, all on just 17 carries.
That's a heck of a workload for the third-year back. It's also not the first time that Gibbs has gone off this season, as his 6.1 yards per carry average and a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns showed. Gibbs is clearly a workhorse back with big-play potential. His pairing with fellow running back David Montgomery has given the Lions a run game that is going to be hard to overcome.
Montgomery was a bit quiet against the Buccaneers, but usually, he's an able second-back who can come in and do some serious work in his own right. The two running backs may truly be the focal point of the Lions' running game. If needed, it's very likely the Lions can still win games, despite Goff's play.
Goff isn't having a bad statistical year. He's throwing for over 1,600 yards, has 15 touchdowns and three interceptions, and is completing just under 75% of his passes. Yet, Pro Football Focus is grading him out at just a 66.5 for the year. It's a fine grade, but it's also down considerably from the last two years in Detroit, where he had grades of 78.8 in 2024 and 85.6 in 2023.
The former No. 1 overall pick is still a good quarterback; no one is questioning that. However, poor play at wide receiver and some inconsistencies in the offensive line have exposed him a bit. Normally, we'd be ringing the alarm bells when a quarterback takes this many sacks or has some issues holding onto the ball. Yet, with the Lions, with how good their run game is, Goff having a bad day isn't going to sink this team.
Offensively, they can rely on their running game, which could very well be the best in the NFC, if not the NFL. Defensively, they're one of the absolute best units going. Anchored by Aidan Hutchinson and Jack Campbell, the Lions are not a roster that needs their quarterback to be perfect to win. They're a truly complete team.
This is a reason many should worry about the Lions, because despite their fifth-seed standing, they'll likely be near or at the top of the NFC when the season is done.