The big moment it became apparent the Lions needed to extend Jared Goff

The big extension has finally happened for Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions. He signed four-year $212 million deal on Monday and now he's locked in until 2028. 

After the dust had settled, we sat back and thought about the last three years covering Goff and the question of when did you completely buy into the idea that the Lions needed to get this deal done with Goff? came up. 

There's really only one answer that comes to mind. It's not the pass attempts without a turnover streak, it wasn't winning the NFC North title or seeing Ford Field scream his name enroute to winning the Lions first playoff game in 30 years. It was none of those. It was the Lions 31-26 win over the Bears that really did it. Here's why:

You could really feel it creeping back in there for a second in that game. There was a decent subsection of Lions fans that were ready to throw Jared Goff to the wolves after a ton of good games and one really bad one. 

I get it, I wasn't ready to throw in the towel myself, but your mind had to start wondering after that third interception. That was not a good game for Jared Goff. That's totally fair to say. But it was definitely an important one. 

If you take into account everything you knew about Jared Goff before he got to the Lions in 2021, then you knew that Goff was going to crumble in that game. That's all you've been told. Jared Goff lacks confidence and when you put him under pressure, he can't handle it. He will buckle when you need him the most. 

In the first 55 and a half minutes of the game, Jared Goff went 13-24 for 121 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Then the last 4 minutes happened and suddenly Jared Goff was an assassin that could not be stopped and could care less what happened in the first 55 minutes. 

He went 10-11 for 115 yards and a 32-yard touchdown to Jameson Williams. He was laser focused and led the Lions to back to back touchdown drives in short order and the team won. That was so far and away from anything we may have thought we knew about Jared Goff before his arrival in Detroit.

He never wavered. Not once. Even when it seemed like it couldn't possibly get worse. Even when it actually did get worse. Goff went into the depths of hell and came back out with his head on straight and led this team to a win. 

I knew the Lions had their guy with Goff before that. But I definitely knew after that game. What you want in a quarterback is a guy that can go through hell and figure it out without losing total control of everything. Goff showed he can be that guy. He showed that even on his worst day, he will still be there to help figure it out. 

If you have a guy that can do that, then you're always going to be alright. Just hope he doesn't make a habit of playing that type of game.