Lions QB Jared Goff says team isn’t close to winning, they’re there

Although the Detroit Lions sit in fourth place in the NFC North with a 1-2 record, they were just seven points and four and a half minutes away from sitting atop the division undefeated.

After falling 38-35 to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, the Lions dropped another one-score game Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, falling 28-24 to the Minnesota Vikings.

Detroit took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter but allowed two Vikings’ touchdowns in the final 7:45 to squander a game many on the Lions’ sideline — including quarterback Jared Goff — believe should have been theirs.

“We keep saying we’re close, we’re close; no, I think we’re there,” Goff told reporters after the game. “Like, we’re there. We just have to get a first down here, execute on one more play, and me, throw one more better ball and it’s over. That game should have been over long before they were able to get back in it. I’m sure they know that, but we let them back in it, and that’s our fault.”

Though bold, Goff’s declaration seems to hold some weight.

Through three games, the Lions have the No. 2 scoring offense (31.7 points per game), the No. 3 overall offense (409 yards per game), and the rushing offense is averaging 170.3 yards per game. They’re also one of just three teams to average more than 400 yards per game this season.

For comparison, they ranked 22nd, 19th, and 25th, respectively, in those same categories last season.

Goff himself is tied for the fifth-most touchdown passes (seven), and he’s one of just six QBs with seven or more touchdowns and two or fewer interceptions. Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes is the only other quarterback with as many TDs and fewer interceptions.

Detroit is also the only team in the NFL with two running backs who rank in the top 20 in yards — D’Andre Swift (eighth, 231 yards) and Jamaal Williams (19th, 168 yards). 

Swift’s 8.6 yards per carry leads all running back, while Williams is tied with Cleveland’s Nick Chubb for the league lead with four rushing touchdowns, and he ranks first among all tailbacks with seven carries inside the 10-yard line.

On paper, Detroit appears to be one of the more improved teams from 2021 to 2022. 

However, a three-game stretch against the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, and Green Bay Packers from Oct. 23 to Nov. 6 should reveal by the halfway point of the season whether the Lions are, indeed, for real.