Jared Goff Stays Sharp, Leads Lions Past Previously Undefeated Vikings

The ex-Cal star completes 88 percent of his pass attempts and has been on target through Detroit's four-game win streak

Jared Goff drops back to pass / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

For a month now, it’s actually a surprise when Jared Goff throws an incomplete pass.

The 30-year-old former Cal star had another sparkling passing performance on Sunday, leading the Detroit Lions to a 31-29 come-from-behind victory over the previously undefeated Minnesota Vikings.

Goff led the Lions (5-1) on an eight-play, 44-yard drive, setting up Jake Bates’ 44-yard game-winning field goal with 15 seconds left.

Goff was 12 for 12 passing in the first half and completed his first 15 attempts. He finished 22 for 25 — 88 percent — for 290 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions, gaining 11.2 yards per attempt and posting a passer rating of 140.0.

It was Goff’s third straight game with a 140-plus passer rating, according to ESPN, joining Aaron Rogers (2011), Kurt Warner (1999) and Roger Staubach (1971) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to do so.

He threw touchdown passes of 35 yards to Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 14-10 lead with 8:39 to play in the second quarter, then 21 yards to Kalif Raymond to make it 28-17 with 5:43 left in the third quarter.

Lions coach Dan Campbell said his team knows it can count on Goff.

"The guy's got arm talent, there's no question. But it's what he's got here and what he's got here, and that's what makes him a dangerous player," Campbell said, pointing to his head and his heart. "And it's what makes him really one of these guys that you can build around.

"Because he's a winner, man. He will find a way to win. He will find a way to put the offense in position to win the game. He doesn’t get frazzled. He’s tough. He’s competitive, and, man, he’s reliable."

Detroit took that lead into the fourth quarter before the Vikings scored 12 unanswered points, taking a 29-28 lead on Ivan Pace Jr.’s 36-yard return of David Montgomery’s fumble for a TD with 5:50 left. The Vikings failed to convert the two-point try.

Goff engineered the game-winning drive, beginning at his own 30 with 2:32 to play. He completed passes of 16 yards to Jahmyr Gibbs to the Minnesota 36-yard line, then 14 yards to St. John to the 22 on the next play.

Detroit got nowhere with a first-down running play before Goff twice took a knee to set up Bates’ game-winning kick.

The owner of most of Cal’s passing records, Goff has been at his best over the past four games, all of them Detroit victories. 

He is 76 for 91 — 83.5 percent — for 1,086 yards  (11.9 yards per attempt), with nine TDs and just one interception. That stretch included an NFL-record 18 for 18 performance in a win over the Seattle Seahawks.