Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams dumped Jared Goff for Matthew Stafford in 2021, and the blockbuster trade couldn’t have had a better immediate return. The Rams won the Super Bowl in Stafford’s first season, the best possible outcome in Year 1 of this new partnership.
Goff and the Lions had a rough first season together in 2021, but they too are having success now in Year 2. Goff has led Detroit to a 7-7 record through 14 games after starting the year 1-6, clawing their way back into playoff contention.
This season, Goff has 23 touchdown passes and seven interceptions, posting a passer rating of 97.2 – the third-best of his career. McVay has taken notice of the way Goff is playing for the Lions and he’s happy to see his former quarterback succeeding.
“He’s done a great job. Really, he’s played really good football, you can see he’s playing with confidence,” McVay said Tuesday. “I think (Lions OC) Ben Johnson has done an outstanding job of being able to kind of put them in some good spots, and then Jared ultimately brings it to life, but they’ve really played well offensively. Again, just being a fan of the game, we’ve crossed over with them and I think Jared’s playing at a really high level and he’s done outstanding.”
Goff has thrown just 15 interceptions in two seasons with the Lions, which is one fewer than he had in 16 games with the Rams in 2019. He’s cut down on the turnovers and once again shown the accuracy he played with earlier in his career, which has turned the Lions into a fun team to watch.
The split between McVay and Goff wasn’t the cleanest, but it’s good to see McVay giving Goff credit for the job he’s done in Detroit.
