On Sunday afternoon, the Detroit Lions went on the road and won another game in convincing fashion. Much of the credit goes to the defense having another stellar performance and holding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to only 254 total yards. Meanwhile, the Bucs were only able to go 2-for-12 on 3rd down conversions.
That said, we’ll focus on the defense later this week with a film breakdown on linebacker Alex Anzalone. For now, I want to focus on quarterback Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions offense. It’s been no secret that the Lions offense has been one of the best in the NFL. Much of that credit goes to their quarterback, who is playing with more confidence than he ever has in his career.
From his ability to identify defenders before the snap to his ability to consistently read the defense post-snap. Right now, Goff is 5th in the NFL in passing yards with 1,618 passing yards. In addition to that, his 73.3 QBR is 4th-best in the NFL.
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Against the Bucs, Goff finished 30-for-44 with 353 yards passing and two touchdowns. Adding to that, the Lions went 9-for-16 on 3rd down during Sunday’s game. Through six games, Goff has the Lions offense clicking at an extremely high level and most importantly, he’s got them to their best start since 2015 with a 5-1 record. Let’s jump into the tape to review the two touchdown passes made by Jared Goff!
The first play I want to showcase is the touchdown pass from Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown. On the play above, the Lions come out in 11 personnel (one tight end and one running back) with 2×2 set. To the left of the formation (bottom of the screen), you’ll see St. Brown (WR 14) aligned in the slot.
Once the ball is snapped, you’ll see St. Brown work vertically up the field. In the process, he reads the defenders and runs a choice route. This type of route is when the receiver reads the defender and has the option to either break in or out on the route. For this route, St. Brown throttles down and turns inside before taking the ball across the middle of the field.
As he takes the ball across the field, he gets a key block from running back Craig Reynolds. The devastating block from Reynolds allows St. Brown to turn up-field and into the end zone for the touchdown. This play is credit to the entire Lions offense.
The offensive line gives Goff enough time to stay protected, Goff makes the correct read, St. Brown displays great run after-the-catch ability and Reynolds makes the biggest block of his life. This type of touchdown sets the tone but it also defines this Lions team. Everyone doing their job and outworking the opposition.
Lastly, the second touchdown was just as impressive for this Lions offense. Looking at the play above, the Lions come out in 11 personnel (one tight end and one running back) with a trips bunch formation to the right of the offense. The three receivers to the trips side are Jameson Williams (WR 9), Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR 14) and Josh Reynolds (WR 8).
After the ball is snapped, Josh Reynolds (WR 8) runs an out route, Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR 14) runs a corner route and running what appears to just be a fly route is Jameson Williams (WR 9). On this 45-yard throw, Jared Goff gets it far enough to the end zone for Williams to make a play on the ball.
While it appears like Williams misjudges where to turn his head to make the catch, he readjusts and shows terrific concentration to haul this pass in for a touchdown. This leads to Goff’s second touchdown pass of the game and Williams first touchdown reception on the season. This touchdown capped off a 9 play, 73 yard drive that took 4:25 off the clock and it put the Lions up 17-6 with 3:19 left to play in the 3rd quarter.
Overall, the Lions couldn’t get the ground game going with only 40 yards rushing. But keep in mind, the Lions were down to Craig Reynolds and Devin Ozigbo as their running backs, and the Buccaneers have a top-10 run defense. That said, Jared Goff operated efficiently by completing 68% of his passes and of his 30 completions, he targeted 10 different players. No doubt there’s credit due to the Lions offense from the skilled-position players to the offensive line, but it’s all being led by one of the most underrated players in the NFL.