The Detroit Lions are hungry to return to the playoffs after falling short last season, and quarterback Jared Goff appears to already be in midseason form with his top target.
The Lions struggled on offense down the final stretch of last season, when they fumbled a clear path to the playoffs with a loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas Day. The team has made some tweaks and come back strong this year, with Goff earning praise for some strong early play in training camp.
Jared Goff Leads Team in Critical Drive
Though the Lions held Goff out of their first preseason game, team reporter Tim Twentyman noted that he looked strong through the team’s practices. Head coach Dan Campbell put the offense in an end-of-game scenario at Wednesday’s practice, giving them the ball at their own 44-yard line with less than a minute left on the clock.
As Twentyman noted, Goff showed poise in recovering from an early setback and marching his team down the field.
“The big play on the drive for the offense came after a second-down sack by Moore, which put the offense in a 3rd & long,” Twentyman wrote. “Goff hit St. Brown down the left seam for a 21-yard gain with rookie cornerback Keith Abney II in pretty good coverage. It was just a great throw and catch. The offense raced up to kill the clock at the 18-yard line with five seconds left.”
Twentyman noted that the pass left the Lions with time for one final play against a defense spread out across the goal line in prevent formation. Goff found top target Amon-Ra St. Brown for what appeared to be the game-winning touchdown.
“On his way there, St. Brown cut off his route at about the three-yard line and Goff hit him,” Twentyman wrote. “There was no live tackling so it’s hard to definitively say if St. Brown would have gotten in being contacted by defenders at about the one-yard line, but he’s a tough player to tackle and head coach Dan Campbell gave the offense the touchdown.”
Jared Goff Ready for Potential Preseason Action
Though the Lions have traditionally held Goff out of the preseason, Campbell hinted that he could see a bit of time as the team adjusts to new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.
âI think I need whatever Dan thinks I need. I will play if they want us to play,â Goff told SiriusXM NFL radio, via SI.com. âWe have a new coordinator, thereâs certainly an argument for it. If he doesnât want to put anyone out there, thereâs certainly an argument for that, too. Whatever Dan wants to do, we will follow suit and see where it goes.â
Goff added that he’s ready for some new wrinkles this season.
âDrew will do whatever fits,” Goff said. “If we had six running backs, we’d put them all on the field if we thought they were all the best players. I think he’s very flexible in what he wants to do. We have a really good problem with a lot of really good skill players, and want to be able to find a way to get them all the ball.â
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