Can Rams Win Super Bowl With Ex-Cal Star Jared Goff at Quarterback?
The 9-4 Rams have won four of their last five games heading into Sunday’s game against the winless Jets, and the quiet debate is getting louder with each victory: Can the Rams win a Super Bowl with former Cal star Jared Goff as their quarterback?
Sports Illustrated takes on the topic in the video above, and former NFL coach June Jones has his opinion on the matter, but I have my own take, and it starts with this bit of background:
The Rams’ regular-season record with Goff as their starting quarterback is 42-18 (70% winning percentage) over the past four years. That’s a better record over that span than Aaron Rodgers (33-18-1, 64.7%) and Russell Wilson (39-22, 63.9%), and only slightly worse than Drew Brees (39-12 (76.5%), Ben Roethlisberger (32-13, 71.1%) and Tom Brady (44-17, 72.1%).
The difference, of course, is that those other five guys have won Super Bowls. So has Patrick Mahomes, whose 36-8 record the past four years is the best among elite quarterbacks.
Despite his success in the regular season, Goff is remembered for one thing: his poor performance in the 13-3 Super Bowl loss to the Patriots following the 2018 season. It was probably the worst performance of Goff’s pro career, and the numbers – 19-of-38, 229 yards, no touchdowns, one interception – do not tell the story of how overmatched Goff was by the occasion. Bill Belichick’s defense got considerable credit for holding his opponent to the lowest Super Bowl point total in 47 years, but much of the blame landed on Goff’s shoulders.
Goff got high marks for standing tall in the postgame interview, taking much of the blame on himself and saying, “Toughest loss I’ve ever had. It kills. It’s terrible.” It was particularly difficult since the Rams defense had played so well in holding down Brady.
The stigma of that game has followed Goff since.
Meanwhile, the other top contenders in the NFC this season – Green Bay (Rodgers), New Orleans (Brees, assuming he is healthy), Seattle (Wilson) and Tampa Bay (Brady) – all have quarterbacks who have proven they can win a Super Bowl.
So, two years after his Super Bowl calamity, has the 26-year-old Goff improved and matured enough to take the Rams all the way? He has been hot and cold this season, and he ranks only 24th in the league in passer rating, while four quarterbacks that might stand in his way to a Super Bowl win – Rodgers, Wilson, Brees and Mahomes – all rank among the top five.
Nonetheless, the answer to the question is, Yes, the Rams can win a Super Bowl with Goff as their quarterback. By no means am I guaranteeing that they will win it this year or any year. I’m just saying that it can be done with Goff at the helm, as the history lesson in this story suggests.
The Rams can win a Super Bowl if:
---If the Rams’ defense can continue to be dominant. They lead the league in total defense and are third in scoring defense, allowing 18.9 point per game.
---If Goff is not required to win the game himself.
Unlike ex-Cal star Rodgers, who will be asked to carry the Packers to the Super Bowl, Goff need only avoid crippling mistakes and make enough plays to score a handful of points. Remember, the Rams only gave up 13 points in their last Super Bowl appearance against the Patriots and Brady, and that is typically good enough to win the game.
And while most Super Bowl-winning teams had Hall of Famers as their quarterback, a number of Super Bowls were won by quarterbacks not as good as Goff.
Check out this list of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks: Doug Williams, Jeff Hostetler, Mark Rypien, Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, and Nick Foles.
In the strike shortened 1987 season, Williams started only two regular-season games, and lost both as a replacement for Jay Schroeder, but Williams was great in a 42-10 Super Bowl win over the Denver Broncos and Hall of Famer John Elway.
Hostetler started just two regular-season games in 1990 after Phil Simms got hurt, but Hostetler led the Giants through the playoffs and a victory over the Bills and another Hall of Famer Jim Kelly.
Rypien had his best season in 1991, when he was named to the Po Bowl, and he led the Redskins to a victory over Buffalo and Kelly. But Rypien proceeded to go 14-18 as a starter the rest of his NFL career.
Dilfer replaced Tony Banks as Tampa Bay’s starter in the ninth game of the 2000 season and got the Bucs through the Giants in the Super Bowl. The Bucs thought so little of Dilfer that they opted not to re-sign him after that season, so Dilfer signed with Seattle as a backup to Matt Hasselbeck.
Johnson had a good season in 2002 to help the Bucs to another Super Bowl win, this time against the Raiders. But Johnson had a record of 21-25 as a starter in his remaining years following that win.
Foles was outstanding in the Eagles’ Super Bowl run after he took over for injured Carson Wentz in 2017, but Foles has a career regular-season record of 28-27 as an NFL starter, including 6-10 since the Super Bowl win over the Patriots and Brady.
In virtually every case, those teams won because of outstanding defensive play and strong run games.
So, yes, the Rams can win with Goff as their quarterback, even against a team with a better quarterback. But it will be up to the Rams’ defense and Sean McVay’s game plan and play-calling to make that task easier for Goff.
Cover photo of Jared Goff by Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports
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