The Lions are the hottest team in the NFL right now entering a game at Lambeau Field vs. the 6-2 Packers.
They've won five straight games by a total of 98 points, including 38-point wins on the road vs. the Cardinals and Cowboys. They've proved they can win in a variety of ways: the pass game, run game, and most recently special teams in a 52-point effort vs. the Titans last Sunday.
They look like the most complete team in the NFC right now and could be poised to build upon last year's NFC Championship game appearance, especially with the MVP-like play of Jared Goff.
He's posted an 83% completion rate and 146.5 passer rating during Detroit's five-game win streak, both the best marks by any player in any five-game span in NFL history (minimum 100 attempts). The Lions are the first team on record (since at least 1940) with more touchdowns (25) than incompletions (20) in a five-game span within a season.
It's a level of efficiency we've never seen before, specifically by Goff, and he's done it by putting up some of the best numbers in the league when pressured this year. He's 22 of 29 passing for 326 yards when pressured during Detroit's five-game win streak. If he's going to carve up defenses like that, it will be very difficult for anyone to beat the Lions.
For the season, he ranks first in completion rate (69%), second in yards per attempt (9.1) and third in pass success rate (39%) when pressured.
Jared Goff last two seasons vs. pressure
| 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
Completion rate | 50% | 69% |
Yards per attempt | 6.0 | 9.1 |
Explosive pass rate | 17% | 24% |
off-target pct | 16% | 9% |
Average pass length | 7.4 | 8.6 |
He's been more accurate, decisive and better at driving the ball down field with defenders bearing down on him this year.
He passed a major test in a slim Week 7 win at the Vikings by going 11-for-13 and averaging 12.0 yards per attempt vs. pressure against Brian Flores' sophisticated scheme which had allowed 4.4 yards per attempt with pressure in the first six games of the season.
Goff has by no means been perfect when the defense gets him off his spot. He fumbled twice on sacks in the fourth quarter vs. Minnesota which could have cost Detroit the game had they not luckily recovered both. He's still a statue that has the 11th-highest sack rate when pressured this year (24%), the highest rate of his career. Make no mistake, he's not making improv plays like Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson (or even a Baker Mayfield or Brock Purdy) outside the pocket.
Jared Goff vs. pressure since 2017
| EPA per Play | NFL Rank | |
|---|---|---|
2024 | -0.18 | 12th |
2023 | -0.34 | 20th |
2022 | -0.30 | 16th |
2021 | -0.52 | 29th |
2020 | -0.65 | 31st |
2019 | -0.30 | 19th |
2018 | -0.45 | 28th |
2017 | -0.24 | 18th |
Still, when you take into account all of his plays vs. pressure (pass attempts, scrambles, sacks, fumbles) and the situation he is still 12th in EPA per play without a clean pocket this year, which would be the best mark of his career.
Not bad when you consider this has been his Achilles' heel in recent years. He specifically was criticized for his performance in these spots after last postseason. Last year he had the second-largest dropoff in EPA per play when pressured compared with when he had a clean pocket (only Tua Tagovailoa was worse). Everything was magnified in the postseason when he had a 41% completion rate vs. pressure and 81% with a clean pocket. He crumbled when the 49ers knocked him off his spot in the NFC Championship loss, going 3-for-13 vs. pressure, including 0-for-2 on two critical fourth-down plays.
Nick Bosa foreshadowed that in the week leading up to the game with these comments.
"I think he is the same guy," Bosa said. "He's played great with L.A. and he's played great in Detroit, but the key is obviously getting pressure on him. He's got a really good (offensive) line, so it makes it tough, but you cover up his first reads and then you get after him, hit him a couple times, it changes things a little bit."
If this year's version of Goff can stand up to pressure and deliver more big-time throws, the rest of the league should be on notice. A more poised and polished Goff vs. pressure should specifically come in handy in a divisional showdown with Green Bay on Sunday.
The Packers are allowing 4.4 yards per attempt with pressure this year, second-lowest rate in the league. Goff is averaging 9.1 yards per attempt vs. pressure in 2024, the second-highest rate in the NFL.
Pressure comparison this season
| Jared Goff | Packers Defense | |
|---|---|---|
Comp pct | 69% | 47% |
Yards per attempt | 9.1 | 4.4 |
TD-INT | 2-2 | 0-3 |
It's a strength-on-strength matchup that will be one of the deciding factors in Week 9, with first place in the division on the line. Goff passed a test vs. the Vikings pressure two weeks ago and he can do it again in Green Bay. It might be a little tougher this time. This is Detroit's first game outdoors this season and the forecast calls for rain at Lambeau Field on Sunday.
