The Detroit Lions had a fantastic game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, October 27, walking away with a 52-14 victory. With the Lions comfortably ahead for the entire second half, some are wondering why the Lions and head coach Dan Campbell kept quarterback Jared Goff in the game for so long.
The Lions took Goff out early in the fourth quarter. To make matters worse, Goff suffered an “apparent ankle injury” during the game, which caused him to limp on the field, as Ian Casselberry of Yahoo Sports noted.
Now, some NFL experts and fans are criticizing Campbell and Detroit for keeping Goff in the game.
‘Goff Should Have Come Out’
In an October 27 feature, Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press asks the question if Goff was left in the game too long, and his answer is “yes.”
“The Lions quarterback, by far the most irreplaceable player on the team, didn’t leave the game until 1:13 remained in the third quarter, shortly before Jake Bates’ 51-yard field goal put them up by 38 points,” Monarrez stated. “I just asked coach Dan Campbell a few days ago about how he decides to take his foot off the gas in a blowout; he said it’s part feel and part concern for a comeback. I get that, but the Lions were dominating the Titans in all three phases, and Goff should have come out with 6:17 left in the third quarter after the Lions went up by five touchdowns.”
Monarrez added, “He had been sacked hard the series before that (his fourth sack of the game) and the game was well in hand, making it unnecessary for him to come back out. The Lions have too much to play for — especially with next week’s big showdown in Green Bay — to not protect their most important player, especially when they’re able to freely substitute him back in if they need to.”
For the game, Goff had 28 yards passing, completed 6 of 8 throws and had two touchdowns. He was also sacked three times for a loss of 22 yards.
Fans React to Jared Goff Staying in the Game
Long before the Lions took Goff out of the game, the quarterback appeared to suffer an ankle injury in the first quarter, and that got fans worried.
“Jared Goff appears to have gotten a tape job on his right ankle while the defense was on the field. He’s been sacked three times on six dropbacks today,” Kyle Meinke of MLive posted on X during the game. One X user responded, stating, “Ben Johnson is the biggest idiot on the planet getting his QB hurt at home against worst team in NFL.”
Another X user also posted, “There is no reason Goff and the starters need to be in this game anymore. Get them out Dan no reason to risk an injury.”
Another fan on X commented, “Not really sure why Goff is still out there, hopefully he doesn’t suffer a bigger injury on this drive.”
One more asked, “Hey Dan….can we please get Hooker, Reynolds, and Vaki in there so we aren’t risking injury to Goff, Monty, or Gibbs?”
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