Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions have had a poor start to the Divisional Round game against the Washington Commanders. The NFC’s first seed trailed 31-21 at halftime, and Jayden Daniels has a great opportunity to pull off a huge upset.
Goff struggled in the first half and was a big reason his team was down by 10 points to an opponent who, on paper, was inferior to them.
Jared Goff Gets Criticized by Fans for First-Half Performance
In the first half, the Lions quarterback was 11-of-17 passing for 150 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, including a pick-six. He was sacked once and had a poor passer rating of 72.8.
Goff was criticized by fans on social media for his first-half performance. Here are some of the reactions:
System QB getting exposed 💀
— GHOST Tanzer (@Tanzer) January 19, 2025
One fan wrote, “Sean McVay thought he wasn’t good enough to win a Super Bowl, yet Lions fans still duped themselves into thinking otherwise.”
“Literally another [version of Brock Purdy], but people won’t agree,” said another fan.
don’t fret. there’s a spreadsheet somewhere that says Jared Goff is playing an incredible game. we are just too dumb to understand it. https://t.co/eCR12zz3J7
— Stressedd🧯 (@Ianwighttt) January 19, 2025
“Imagine if this was Dak Prescott, how the world would react,” added one fan.
“Goff has been a pretender for months,” said another fan.
Jared Goff in the playoffs https://t.co/SWCXLCjV08 pic.twitter.com/rpsFSPBV6m
— VBS (@VBSofficial_) January 19, 2025
The Lions finished the regular season with a record of 15-2 and, despite injuries to multiple players, were the favorite to win the Super Bowl. A loss to the Commanders, who have a rookie quarterback, will be unacceptable for Goff and his team.
As a result, the 30-year-old quarterback has to step up and play much better in the second half. If the Rams lose, Goff will be blamed, fairly or unfairly, and people will continue to disrespect him while bringing up his failed tenure with the Los Angeles Rams.
Lions’ Defense Needs To Step Up vs. Commanders
The Lions’ defense is without several key players, but they managed to play quite well in Week 18 against the Minnesota Vikings. They limited an offense consisting of Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson to just nine points, but the story has been completely different against the Commanders.
Daniels and Co. scored 31 points in the first half, out of which 28 came in the second quarter. It will be very tough for Goff and the Lions offense to have a chance of winning the game if the team’s defense fails to get stops.
Detroit’s defensive coordinator, Aaron Glenn, is among the top candidates to get a head coaching role after this season, and he needs to sort things out. A loss wouldn’t look good on his résumé (even after a fifth-place finish this season in PFN’s Defense+ metric), and he needs to make adjustments and make life tough for the Commanders’ quarterback.
For most of the season, the Lions looked like the best team in the NFL. Losing in the Divisional Round will be a huge blow for the work Dan Campbell has done so far. It will also be devastating for Goff, who has worked hard to change some of the narratives set about him. However, an early exit from the playoffs will create speculations on whether he is the right quarterback for the team to win the Super Bowl.
Detroit has enough playmakers on both sides of the ball to still win the game convincingly, but it remains to be seen whether they’ll be able to do under the most pressure they have been so far this season.
