Jared Goff had one of his worst games of the season on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, and not just because he turned the ball over three times. He simply wasn’t very sharp, did a poor job sensing pressure in the pocket and missed what would’ve been a sure touchdown on a wheel route to Darrell Henderson.
He finished the day 19-for-31 passing, with only 198 yards and two interceptions. He didn’t score a touchdown and also lost a fumble. That stat line is not one any quarterback wants to have next to his name, and his passing chart isn’t any better.
According to Next Gen Stats, Goff attempted just seven passes more than 10 yards downfield. He completed one of those passes for 30 yards with one interception. As you can see, the majority of his throws came close to the line of scrimmage, with the 49ers doing a great job taking away intermediate and deep passes.
There simply hasn’t been any consistency on deep throws by Goff this season. Yes, the Rams are missing Brandin Cooks, who was their primary field-stretcher, but Goff hasn’t been accurate on these throws either.
For instance, take a look at this throw to Henderson, who ran a beautiful route to get open for what should’ve been a touchdown. Instead of scoring a touchdown, the Rams settled for a field goal to make it 17-6 instead of possibly 17-10.
Goff hasn’t been taking many shots down the field all season, either. According to Next Gen Stats, Goff throws 10-plus yards downfield just 27% of the time, which is the fifth-lowest rate among all quarterbacks.
That’s an issue for the Rams because the majority of their big plays have come on receivers gaining yards after the catch, rather than Goff actually stretching the field with deep throws.
Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods are best on short and intermediate routes, and although Josh Reynolds has some long speed, he’s not a blazer like Cooks. And when the Rams do take shots downfield, Goff has to be more accurate because his current pace isn’t cutting it.
