If the Detroit Lions are to have any real chance of pulling off the upset win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 9, quarterback Jared Goff will have to be a positive factor. As weird as it might seem, history says Goff can do it.
Goff has played consistently well in his career against the Packers. It doesn’t necessarily fit with the narratives about Goff’s career versus quality teams, but he’s been money when Green Bay is the opponent.
Goff’s first three regular-season starts against the Packers, courtesy of Pro Football Reference:
| Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Year | Week | Tm | Opp | Result | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | Rate | Sk | Y/A | AY/A | |
| 1 | 2018 | 8 | LAR | GNB | W 29‑27 | 19 | 35 | 54.29 | 295 | 3 | 0 | 111.0 | 5 | 8.43 | 10.14 | |
| 2 | 2021 | 2 | DET | @ | GNB | L 17‑35 | 26 | 36 | 72.22 | 246 | 2 | 1 | 97.7 | 1 | 6.83 | 6.69 |
| 3 | 2021 | 18 | DET | GNB | W 37‑30 | 21 | 30 | 70.00 | 238 | 2 | 0 | 115.7 | 1 | 7.93 | 9.27 | |
| 2‑1‑0 | 66 | 101 | 65.35 | 779 | 7 | 1 | 107.7 | 7 | 7.71 | 8.65 |
Those figures are all above Goff’s career averages. He also had a great performance in what turned out to be his last game in a Rams uniform, a 32-18 loss to the Packers in the 2020 NFC divisional round of the playoffs.
The Rams didn’t win, but don’t blame Goff. He completed 21-for-27 for 177 yards, one TDs, no INTs and ran for a first down. His Los Angeles defense let him down, allowing the Packers almost 500 total yards. Green Bay scored three TDs and two field goals on its first five drives of the game.
Based on how the 2022 season has played out for the Lions, Goff could see an unfortunate repeat of that game script on Sunday.
