The San Francisco 49ers have given Jared Goff both wonderous and painful memories.
The latter, though, has nothing to do with any heartbreak the team had when Goff was growing up in the late 1990s and 2000s in nearby Novato, Calif. His childhood team has instead given the Pro Bowl quarterback for the Detroit Lions some rough NFL moments.
Looking at Jared Goff’s Record Against San Francisco
Goff owns a 3-6 overall record against the team he grew up rooting for in Northern California.
All three of his victories came when he was with the Los Angeles Rams. They also came before the blockbuster trade of Jan. 2021 that sent him to the Lions, with Matthew Stafford being a part of the mega exchange.
Goff, only once, managed to earn a regular season sweep of the Niners. That came in the 2018 season during the Rams’ march to the NFC title in head coach Sean McVay’s second season of head coaching.
However, before entering Levi’s Stadium one more time on Sunday with the NFC title on the line, Goff is carrying this new record in tow versus the Niners: 0-5 in his last five starts versus them.
And yes, that also means that Goff has yet to defeat the 49ers while wearing the Lions uniform.
How Much Did Goff Struggle in the Last Five Meetings?
Goff not only will make the bold attempt to give the Motor City its first-ever Super Bowl appearance, but the veteran passer will aim to shed his recent struggles against his former division rival.
How bad has he struggled against San Francisco in the personal five-game slide against them? Here’s a closer look:
2019 Season
Goff ended up tasting two defeats against the eventual NFC champion 49ers.
In the first meeting held on Oct. 13, Goff was bottled to 13-of-24 passing for a lowly 78 yards in the 20-7 home loss at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.
Goff managed to improve his numbers significantly in the second meeting: completing 27 of 46 attempts for two touchdowns and racking up 323 yards, but his Rams fell in the 34-31 shootout on Dec. 21 in Santa Clara, Calif.
2020 Season
The former California Golden Bear took two more losses to the Niners … and settled for the same number of passing yardage in both games.
MORE: NFL Playoff Bracket
Goff hit 19 of his 38 attempts and threw two touchdowns in the first meeting. But, the S.F. defense bottled him to 198 yards in the 24-16 Niners win on Oct. 18.
In the November contest held at an empty SoFi Stadium, Goff again settled for 19 completions — this time out of 31 attempts and earning the repeated number of yards from the October meeting. Yet, Goff saw two of his passes get snatched by the Niners defense in the 23-20 loss.
2021 Season
The Lions’ debut of Goff happened to have the 49ers on the other side.
Goff helped Detroit avoid an embarrassing rout to start the Dan Campbell era.
The visiting Niners built an astonishing 38-10 lead and looked dominant through three quarters. Goff, though, began the rally by hitting D’Andre Swift for a 43-yard touchdown strike to spark the comeback. In the end, S.F. held on for the 41-33 road win, but Goff got the Lions to outscore the Niners 23-3 the rest of the way — and left many convinced about the Campbell regime that day.
Is Goff’s Hometown Backing Him, Even Against the Local NFL Team?
Now comes this in Goff’s homecoming with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line …
Is his hometown with him, or against him?
Turns out, via Andrew Pridgen of the SF Gate on Friday, Novato’s 49ers Faithful have shown a soft spot for their beloved native son. There’s a pub that even has a burger named after Goff.
And that pub owner, Henry Hautau of Finnegan’s Marin, told the SF Gate that the town is rooting for their Niners but also Goff.
“What I’m hearing is a lot of people are saying, ‘Listen, we’re all rooting for Jared; at the same time, we want the Niners,’” Hautau said. “The undertone is people are going to be happy either way. If Detroit wins and Jared has a good game — I don’t think people will be crying into their beer.”
Want to predict the results of the 2023 NFL postseason with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? How about looking into in-depth breakdowns of team depth charts or the NFL playoff schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with all that and more!
