Jared Goff was perfect on Monday night against the Seattle Seahawks, but not everyone knew it.
Starting with his head coach.
“I just gave the game ball to somebody else, so I feel awful,” Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said to the media after the game. “I knew he played a heck of a game. I did not know he was perfect.”
But Goff was perfect, connecting on all 18 of his passes for 292 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Detroit’s 42-29 win over the Seattle Seahawks. The Lions actually connected on all 19 passes they threw Monday night, as Amon-Ra St. Brown threw a seven-yard touchdown on a trick play … caught by Goff.
But beyond Goff’s record-breaking performance — he broke a mark set by Kurt Warner when he completed all ten of his passing attempts in a game for the Arizona Cardinals back in 2005 against the Houston Texans — is how the quarterback set that record. There were some screen passes and throws near the line of scrimmage, but when offensive coordinator Ben Johnson asked Goff to push the ball downfield or over the middle, the Lions passer did it perfectly.
One of the designs Johnson often calls for Goff is the dagger concept, which pairs a vertical route from an inside receiver with a dig route from an outside receiver. The vertical route works to clear out space for the in-breaking route, which the quarterback has to deliver on time and in rhythm.
On Detroit’s second drive of the game, which ended with a touchdown, Johnson called that concept with the Lions facing 2nd and 6. Jameson Williams runs the vertical route while St. Brown runs the dig, and working off play-action Goff connects with St. Brown on this 17-yard gain:
The timing on this stands out, as Goff immediately starts to throw after hitting his drop depth in the pocket, showing no hesitation even after carrying out a run fake that required him to turn his back to the defense. He also has to fit this throw around linebacker Drake Thomas, who came downhill in response to the run action and has to scramble to try and get underneath St. Brown’s dig route.
Detroit returned to this concept later in the game as Goff connected with Tim Patrick, again targeting the dig route:
What stands out about this throw is how Goff fits it between a pair of defenders, linebacker Tyrel Dodson, and defensive back Coby Bryant. Goff lets this pass go before Patrick clears Bryant, throwing the receiver open in that lane between the two defenders, another example of precision timing on this concept.
Goff even showed a little magic in the pocket against the Seahawks on Monday night, with this spinning completion to Williams in the first quarter. Facing pressure off the edge from Seattle pass rusher Tyus Bowser, Goff does a complete spin in the pocket, before getting his eyes back to Williams on his curl route and drilling in one of his 18 completions on the night:
But while Detroit enjoyed a 21-7 lead at the half, Seattle scored touchdowns on their first two possessions of the second half to make it a 28-20 lead with 3:03 left in the third. That’s when Goff delivered perhaps his biggest play of the night, this 70-yard strike to Williams on a crossing route that extended the Lions’ lead again:
Williams and tight end Sam LaPorta run crossing routes over the middle, while St. Brown runs a vertical route along the right side of the formation. Once more, Goff works off of play-action, turning his back to the defense to carry out the run fake before getting his eyes downfield to make his decision.
With the Seahawks in zone coverage, Goff sees Williams open in space working from left to right, and drills in a perfect throw on the crossing route. From there, the speedy receiver does the rest, finishing off the one-play drive for a touchdown.
Goff’s final completion of the night went for a touchdown, on a perfectly thrown out route to St. Brown for an eight-yard score, complete with an impressive toe tap from the receiver:
Goff did throw one incompletion, which was negated by a penalty, and on his last dropback of the night he was sacked for a safety, perhaps the only blemish on an otherwise perfect evening.
Otherwise, however, Goff was perfect.
The pairing of Johnson and Goff continues to be one of the best OC/QB duos in the NFL, as the coach consistently dials up concepts that his quarterback is confident executing, and the results speak for themselves. That should make Detroit a dangerous team to face over the rest of the season.
Perhaps Goff can get a game ball or two along the way.
