Nobody would ever confuse Lions QB Jared Goff and Bears QB Justin Fields. They play the position about as divergently as two quarterbacks can. Those contrasting styles will be on display in Week 11 when Goff and the Lions host Fields and the Bears, presuming Fields returns to the Chicago lineup.
There is now a graphic representation of just how different Goff and Fields like to operate as passers. The percentage thrown to the middle of the field goes up to the right. The success rate scales with the higher values at the top.
You’ll find Goff on an island in the far upper right corner. No quarterback uses the middle of the field more than Goff and the Lions offense, edging past Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa for the highest rate of middle-of-field throws. Goff’s EPA, or expected points added, is near the top, too.
Fields is in the opposite corner. Only two QBs throw over the middle at a lower rate than Fields. Chicago’s success rate when Fields throws to the middle of the field is below average; the egregiousness of Daniel Jones skews the chart view.
This is more about style of play and offensive scheme than being inherently good or bad. However, Goff is really great at using the middle of the field and does it frequently, while Fields trends a lot closer to the bottom in both usage and effectiveness.
The data was compiled and put into handy table form by Judah Fortgang of PFF.