Cal Sports Report

Jared Goff's Perfect Game: 18-for-18 Passing, Plus a TD Catch

The former Cal star was flawless in the Detroit Lion's 42-29 victory over the previously undefeated Seattle Seahawks

Jeff Faraudo

Jared Goff
Jared Goff / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
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Jared Goff went all Sandy Koufax on Monday Night Football, throwing a perfect game in the Detroit Lions’ 42-29 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

Two weeks shy of his 30th birthday, the former Cal star set an NFL record by completing all 18 of his pass attempts for 292 yards with two touchdowns. It was the most passing yards without an incompletion in NFL history, according to an ESPN note.

Goff also had an interesting accomplishment: He finished the game with more touchdown catches than incompletions.

Goff caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown that gave Detroit a 28-14 lead midway through the third quarter. His only previous reception in an NFL game was a 5-yarder vs. Miami in 2022.

Lions coach Dan Campbell apparently had no idea immediately after the game that Goff was 18-for-18.

"I just gave the game ball to somebody else. I feel awful,” he said. “I knew he played a heck of a game. I did not know he was perfect.”

Kurt Warner held the previous NFL record for the passes without an incompletion, going 10 for 10 for Arizona against Houston in 2005.

As usual, Goff's reaction to the whole thing was low key. “It's a cool thing,” Goff said. “I’m just happy we got the win.”

Here is Goff's TD catch:

Both of Goff’s TD passes came after his scoring grab: a 70-yarder to Jameson Williams with 2:52 left in the third quarter and an 8-yarder to St. Brown that pushed Detroit’s lead to 42-27 with 5:23 left.

His passer rating of 155.8 is shy of the NFL’s maximum “perfect” score of 158.3 because he didn’t throw enough touchdown passes. Goff achieved the 158.3 mark with the Los Angeles Rams in 2018 when he completed 26 of 33 passes for 465 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions against the Minnesota Vikings.

Goff was sacked three times, including for a 4-yard loss and a safety with 2:05 left that allowed Seattle to creep within 13 points.

Goff entered the game having thrown more interceptions (4) this season than touchdowns (3). The Lions improved to 3-1 while handing the Seahawks their first defeat in four games.

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Jeff Faraudo
JEFF FARAUDO

Jeff Faraudo was a sports writer for Bay Area daily newspapers since he was 17 years old, and was the Oakland Tribune's Cal beat writer for 24 years. He covered eight Final Fours, four NBA Finals and four Summer Olympics. 

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