Jared Goff's Fumble Puts Lions' Playoff Hopes in Jeopardy

Former Cal quarterback still in the playoff race as Detroit is just a half game out of the final NFC postseason spot

The Detroit Lions’ surge toward a playoff berth hit a wall on Saturday in a 37-23 loss to the Carolina Panthers. 

The Lions are not eliminated from playoff contention, as all the teams vying for the final two playoff sports in the NFC lost Saturday.  The Lions are just a half-game behind Washington for the seventh and final NFC playoff berth, but this loss made it a lot tougher for Detroit and its quarterback, former Cal standout Jared Goff.

Red-hot Detroit had won six of its previous seven games and was favored over Carolina, which entered the game 5-9, so the Lions’ hopes of landing a postseason berth seemed pretty good since they started the day just a half-game out of the final playoff spot in the NFC.

But a fumbled snap by Goff in the first half turned the game around.  The score was tied 7-7 before the Lions marched 82 yards to get a first down at the Panthers’ 8-yard line. Then, on the second play of the second quarter, Goff fumbled the snap, and the Panthers recovered, initiating a 91-yard Carolina touchdown drive that put the Panthers ahead to stay.

"I don't know what happened," Goff said of the fumbled snap. "That's the first time it's happened to us all year. Maybe the first time in two years with [center] Frank [Ragnow] and I. I don't know what happened."

That fumble was the turning point, although the Lions’ defense gave Detroit no chance of catching up, allowing Carolina to rush for 320 yards and gain 520 yards overall.

Goff finished 25-for-42 for 355 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 110.7. Over the past seven games, Goff has thrown 12 touchdown passes with no interceptions to get Detroit into the playoff conversation after a 1-6 start.

And he and the Lions still have a chance to make the playoffs with two games left.

The loss dropped the Lions’ record to 7-8. Washington, whose head coach is former Cal linebacker Ron Rivera, still holds the seventh and final NFC playoff berth with a 7-7-1 record after a 37-20 loss to the 49ers.

Detroit and Seattle, which lost to the Chiefs 24-10 on Saturday, are tied for the eighth spot at 7-8, but the Lions must finish ahead of the Seahawks to get a playoff berth because Seattle would win a tiebreaker with the Lions’ based on Seattle’s head-to-head victory over Detroit earlier this season.

The Packers (6-8) and former Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers are also still alive for a playoff spot and they face Miami on Sunday. Green Bay would tie Seattle and Detroit for the No. 8 slot with a win over the Dolphins.

The Giants lost to the Vikings, so New York, now 8-6-1, holds the No. 6 playoff spot at the moment but has not clinched a berth in the postseason.

Remaining games for teams vying for the final two NFC playoff spots:

Giants (8-6-1) – Colts (home), Eagles (road)

Washington (7-6-1) – Browns (home), Cowboys (home)

Seattle (7-8) – Jets (home), Rams (home)

Detroit (7-8) – Bears (home), Packers (road)

Packers (6-8) – Miami Sunday (road), Vikings (home), Lions (home)

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Cover photo of Jared Goff by Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports

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