DETROIT — In the first quarter, Jared Goff held the ball too long in the middle of a closeout pass, got sacked and saw a red zone opportunity missed.
Midway through the second half, he lofted a pass directly into the hands of Washington’s Quan Martin, who quickly bulldozed his way to a 40-yard pick-6 (complete with Goff getting decked and checked for a concussion).
A few minutes later, just before the end of the first half, Goff was late to hit an open Jameson Williams for a touchdown, allowing Washington’s Mike Sainristil to close down the field and intercept the pass.
Maybe Detroit’s defense was too hurt to win the title. Super Bowlthe legitimate goal after an epic 15-2 regular season and a No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. But the Lions certainly weren’t going to get it done when their star quarterback dragged them down with four total turnovers in the game.
There was little room for error here, certainly against a rookie quarterback in Jayden Daniels who is playing like the game-changing, calm, big-play veteran Goff was supposed to be. He threw two touchdowns against no picks.
Just like that, the NFC race is turned upside down, the Lions eliminated and these bold, dangerous, out-of-nowhere Commanders will face either Philadelphia or the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game on the road next Sunday.
But for Detroit, where hope had become a reasonable emotion after generations of emptiness, a lingering question will emerge from the rubble of that collapse.
Even when all of his defensive starters return from injury next season, will Jared Goff be good enough to lead the Lions to the promised land?
It certainly wasn’t Saturday.
Goff finished 23 of 40 for 313 yards, a touchdown, three interceptions (he added the last one on the Lions’ last desperate drive) and a lost fumble.
“It sucks,” Goff said. “It sucks. The worst part of this job. You hate it when you feel like you’re letting guys down… If I had played better, “would we win?” Maybe. And this is the part that will eat me alive this offseason.
“I’m still processing this,” he continued. “I’m going to have some rough nights ahead, unfortunately.”
This is true for the entire organization. Head coach Dan Campbell choked up with emotion trying to describe the loss, trying to take all the blame while expressing appreciation for his guys.
“It’s just the players,” Campbell said, his voice breaking. “What they put in there. People don’t know, you know, what they’re going through. You have to get up. The body is beaten to death. Stay mentally locked in and do these things. Long season.
That said, it was not difficult to identify the main problem: a defense held together by tape and a turnover machine at QB.
“As everyone knows, you turn the ball over five times… it’s just too many,” Campbell said. “It’s too hard against a team like that.”
Goff is surrounded by talent: a ridiculous running back in Jahmyr Gibbs, a breathtaking speedster in Jameson Williams (at least when he’s not passing; he took one look at a sloppy gadget play), a talented tight end in Sam LaPorta (who threw a one-handed touchdown) and a sure-fire slot receiver in Amon-Ra St. Brown. And then there is an excellent offensive line.
Much of that was on display Saturday, following the proven pattern as the defensive injuries piled up — riding the hot offense, an aggressive mindset and the guile of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to victory.
This didn’t require Goff to be the best quarterback in the league; but even this kind of Maserati needs a driver who doesn’t get stuck in traffic.
“It’s just crap,” Goff said. “I wish I had an answer for you. It just sucks. Yeah, I wish I could play a little better. I wish I could take care of the ball better. I would have liked to have the pick-6 back, it was a very bad decision on my part.
“It’s on me. I need to take care of it better and we would have given ourselves a better chance of winning if I had.
The game was lost in that disastrous second quarter, when a 7-3 Lions lead evaporated into a 31-21 Washington advantage from which Detroit was never able to come back. The Lions defense had some moments, got a few stops, but the offense couldn’t return the favor.
“The defense holds them back, limits the points and we come back and turn the ball over,” Campbell said.
“That’s what I blame myself for,” Goff said. “All three (first-half turnovers) turned into points.”
Goff once led the Los Angeles Rams to the Super Bowl, but the offense managed just three points in a loss. Los Angeles sent him to Detroit four years ago because it thought then-Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford could do what Goff couldn’t; lead the Rams to a championship. They sent out a plethora of draft picks with Goff to get Stafford, who quickly led the Rams to a Super Bowl victory.
Detroit drafted wisely and saw Goff experience a career resurgence; but are there limits? If he were to throw four interceptions against Washington in the divisional round, was there really a chance he could muster the level of play needed to win three times in the playoffs?
And could it be different next season, when Detroit is expected to be a contender again, especially with Aidan Hutchinson and the defense returning?
“What do we need to improve? » Campbell talked about his offseason to-do list. “What do we need to fix?” »
Goff will have to be better. Much better. As good as it has been, as many highlights as this offense has produced, it can only go so far with a quarterback as its anchor. Was it just a bad night, or the ceiling for him?
“It’s a humbling game,” Goff said. “It’s a humbling sport.”
It won’t go away, even after the pain goes away.
