DETROIT – In the first quarter, Jared Goff held the ball too long on a final pass rush, was sacked and watched a chance in the red zone go to waste.
Midway through the second, he airmailed a pass directly into the hands of Washington’s Quan Martin, who promptly slalomed for a 40-yard pick-6 (leaving Goff beaten and evaluated for a concussion).
A few minutes later, near 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 floor and intercept the pass.
Maybe Detroit’s defense was too injury-riddled to ever win the Super Bowl, a legitimate goal after an epic 15-2 regular season and a No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. But the Lions certainly wouldn’t make it if their star quarterback dragged them down with a total of four turnovers in the game.
There was little room for error here, especially when dealing with Jayden Daniels, a rookie quarterback who plays like the groundbreaking, calm, big veteran that Goff should be. He threw two touchdowns against no picks.
Washington 45, Detroit 31.
The NFC race is simply upside down, the Lions are out, and these bold, dangerous, come-from-behind Commanders will face either Philadelphia or the Los Angeles Rams on the road in the NFC Championship game next Sunday.
But for Detroit, where hope had become a sensible sentiment after generations of emptiness, a lingering question will emerge from the rubble of this collapse.
Is Jared Goff good enough to lead the Lions to the promised land even if every defensive player returns from injury next season?
It definitely wasn’t Saturday.
Goff finished 23 of 40 for 313 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions (the last he added on the Lions’ final desperation drive) and a lost fumble.
“It sucks,” Goff said. “Shit. The worst thing about this job. You hate it when you feel like you’re letting the boys down… If I had played better, ‘Are we winning?’ Possibly. And this is the part that will eat me alive this offseason.
“I’m still processing this,” he continued. “Unfortunately, we have some tough nights ahead of us.”
This applies to the entire organization. Head coach Dan Campbell choked up with emotion as he tried to describe the loss, taking all the blame while expressing his appreciation for his boys.
“It’s just the players,” Campbell said, his voice faltering. “What they put into it. People don’t know what they’re going through. You have to get up. The body is made to vomit. Stay mentally captive and do these things. Long season.”
Still, it wasn’t hard 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… that’s just too much,” Campbell said. “It’s too difficult against a team like that.”
Goff is surrounded by talent – a ridiculous running back in Jahmyr Gibbs, a stunning speedster in Jameson Williams (at least when he doesn’t pass; he threw a pick on a botched tackle play), a skilled tight end in Sam LaPorta (who made a one-handed touchdown grab) and a safe slot receiver in Amon-Ra St. Brown. And then there is an excellent offensive line.
So much of that was on display Saturday, following the tried-and-true plan as the defensive injuries piled up – use the hot offense, an aggressive mindset and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson’s tricks to win.
Goff didn’t have to be the best quarterback in the league to do that; But even this Maserati needs a driver who won’t rush into traffic.
“Just crap,” Goff said. “I wish I had an answer for you. It just sucks. Yes, I wish I could have played a little better. I wish I could have taken better care of the ball. I wish I could have had the pick-6 back, that was a really bad decision on my part.
“It’s up to me. I need to take better care of it and if I had, we would have given ourselves a better chance of winning.”
The game was lost in that disastrous second quarter, when a 7-3 Lions lead turned into a 31-21 Washington lead that Detroit could never get out of. The Lions defense had a few moments and got a few stops, but the offense couldn’t retaliate.
“The defense holds them, limits the points, and we come back and turn the ball over,” Campbell said.
“That’s what I’m upset about,” Goff said. “All three [first-half turnovers] turned into points.”
Goff once led the Los Angeles Rams to the Super Bowl, but the offense only managed three points in a loss. LA sent him to Detroit four years ago because they believed then-Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford could do what Goff couldn’t; Lead the Rams to a championship. They sent a host of draft picks along with Goff to get Stafford, who promptly led the Rams to a Super Bowl victory.
Detroit drafted wisely and gave Goff a career resurgence; But are there restrictions? If he threw four interceptions against Washington in the divisional round, was there any real chance he could put together the level of play necessary to win three times in the playoffs?
And can things be any different next season if Detroit is a contender again, especially with Aidan Hutchinson and the defense returning?
“What do we need to improve on?” Campbell said of his offseason to-do list. “What do we need to fix?”
Goff needs to get better. Much better. As good as he was, as many highlights as this offense produced, it can’t go far with a quarterback as the anchor. Was this just a bad night or the limit for him?
“It’s a humbling game,” Goff said. “It’s a humbling sport.”
It won’t get any less even if the pain goes away.