Jared Goff gets high ranking amid Lions defense's struggles

The Detroit Lions are starting their season 2-2, and it's certainly not the kind of start for a team that had high hopes to be Super Bowl-bound. They're toward the bottom of the NFC North and are looking for answers to fix this team and get them back to where they were just two seasons ago, when they ended the season in the No. 1 spot in the NFC North.

The good news is that they have a piece of the puzzle solved, and that's quarterback Jared Goff. As one NFL analyst explains, Goff isn't the problem, and he's performing pretty well this year. The problem, of course, is with the defense.

CBS Sports puts Jared Goff at No. 7 in NFL QB power rankings

CBS Sports has unleashed its NFL QB power rankings heading into Week 5. In it, Garrett Podell says great things about Goff. He even ranks him as the No. 7 best quarterback in the league.

The proof is in the numbers. As he explains, Goff is the "fourth quarterback in NFL history with 1,200-plus passing yards (1,214, the second most in the NFL) and no turnovers through the first four games of a season."

The other quarterbacks with that record, he adds, are Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes and Drew Brees, so he's in solid company. Goff, Podell notes, is also the only quarterback in that group who doesn't have a winning record in those games, "but that's in large part because the Lions have the NFL's second-worst scoring defense (31.8 points allowed per game)."

Podell also says that Goff's "efficiency has been fantastic," with the quarterback ranking No. 4 in EPA per drop-back and No. 5 in passer rating (108.6).

So, Goff isn't the problem, and the Lions defense is becoming fairly hard to defend. Detroit is allowing 423.8 yards and 31.8 points per game, both league worsts, while opponents have converted 28 of 53 third downs against them.

The biggest issue has been the secondary, with Detroit giving up 11 passing touchdowns through four weeks. Even the wins haven't exactly inspired confidence, as the Lions needed overtime to beat the 1-3 New Orleans Saints and held off the 1-3 New York Jets 31-24. 

Goff has 1,214 passing yards with nine touchdowns and no interceptions, so the bigger concern is that Detroit is asking its quarterback to keep bailing out a defense that simply isn't getting enough stops.