Jared Goff is trying to set aside justifiable concerns about the Lions' offense

The Detroit Lions theoretically should have been fresh and sharp coming off their Week 8 bye, but instead they delivered an all-around three-phase clunker in a 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Jared Goff has done fairly well against the Vikings' defense over the last couple seasons. Brian Flores' blitz-heavy ways were rendered ineffective, as Minnesota struggled to consistently convert those blitz looks into actual pressure. On Sunday, that was not the case.

The Vikings sacked Goff five times and hit him 11 times. Against the blitz, according to Next Gen Stats, he was 8-of-14 for 74 yards with a 71.7 passer rating while averaging 5.3 yards per attempt. Goff's struggles when pressured are nothing new, and that continued on Sunday (6 of 15 for 71 yards--4.71 yards per attempt--with a 55.1 passer rating and a completion percentage above expected of -6.9).

The Lions' offense is predicated on success running the ball. They got little done on that front on Sunday, as David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for 65 yards on 20 carries.

Jared Goff is trying too hard to be optimistic about the Lions' offense

The Lions' offense has simply not been as proficient as it was before this season. The 22nd-best third-down conversion rate in the league coming into Sunday (37.6 percent) will be hurt by going 5-for-17 in the game. Offensive coordinator John Morton has not been able to find a lot answers, though a heavy dose of third down screens clearly isn't one.

After the game, Goff was asked if there's much concern about the offense in light of recent games not being so great.

"No concern, but there's certainly an urgency of fixing things," Goff said. "And we did fix things I think from two weeks ago, but there's more to fix obviously. There's a ton to fix and a ton of things to get better at."

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So there's "no concern", yet there's an "urgency of fixing things", "more to fix", "a ton to fix" and a "ton of things to get better at." Players and coaches speaking in contradictions is nothing new, but everything Goff said after "no concern" sure makes it seem like there are things to be concerned about.

When it comes down to it, the Lions' offense has looked like the 2023 and 2024 versions of itself for three of eight games this season, Two of those defenses (the Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals) have been among the worst in the league, and the other (the Baltimore Ravens) was struggling mightily at that point.

Morton had to be allowed time to figure things out as he replaced Ben Johnson as Lions' offensive coordinator. But eight games with a bye week is moving toward "should be figuring it out by now" territory, and Goff is talking about how much there is to fix.

One bad game can be chalked up as just that, and the Vikings had an excellent defensive game plan on Sunday. But the negative vibe around the Lions' offense is becoming impossible to ignore, even if Goff is trying to set it aside.