Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff is no stranger to running a high-scoring offense with a playcaller that seems more like a wizard than a coach.
Back in 2018 with the Los Angeles Rams, Goff led a unit that ranked No. 1 in the NFL in scoring at nearly 33 points per game. That unit had a dual-threat back in the prime of his career in Todd Gurley. Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks both went for over 1,000 receiving yards. Tyler Higbee was coming into his own as a catch-first tight end.
Did we mention head coach Sean McVay calling plays? Shame on us.
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Fast forward a half-decade, and Goff has his Lions offense humming along head into Thursday’s Week 4 matchup with the division-rival Green Bay Packers.
How good is this unit playing? Goff is doing his best Tony Romo impersonation on the field. No, we’re not talking Tony Romo the quarterback. We’re talking Tony Romo the announcer, that individual who predicts plays before they happen.
Yes, this pass resulted in a 45-yard touchdown to rookie Sam LaPorta last week against the Atlanta Falcons. “We had that play written up all week,” Goff said after the game.
It put the Lions up 10-3. They didn’t look back, winning by the score of 20-6 to move to 2-1 in a season for the first time since back in 2017.
Full of talent — some of which has not yet hit its prime — the Lions’ offense is fully prepared to take off. It is playing with confidence. It has the skill-position players. It has the offensive line. And most importantly, it has the quarterback to lead this charge.
Related: Detroit Lions standing in Sportsnaut’s offense rankings
Jared Goff: The rebirth of a franchise quarterback
It was back in January of 2021 that Golf was included as a throw-in headed to Detroit in the blockbuster trade that sent Matthew Stafford to the Rams. Los Angeles needed the Lions to take on the remainder of Goff’s four-year, $134 million contract in order for the salary cap aspect of the trade to work out.
This came after Goff struggled in his final two seasons with the Rams, falling into head coach Sean McVay’s doghouse. A quarterback who had led the team to the Super Bowl less than two calendar years before now being used as a salary filler. At the very least, that’s the way Los Angeles viewed this.
New Lions general manager Brad Homes, who was hired days before the trade was made, had different ideas.
“I never deemed him (Goff) as a bridge. I think everybody else did, but I think it was a little bit of recency bias,” Holmes said back in January.
After some initial struggles with a talent-stricken Lions squad back in 2021, Goff has turned it around big time. The numbers speak for themselves.
| Jared Goff splits in Detroit | Comp% | Yards | TD | INT | QB rating |
| First 14 starts | 67% | 3,245 | 18 | 9 | 91.5 |
| Past 20 starts | 66% | 5,257 | 34 | 9 | 99.6 |
More importantly, Detroit posted a 3-10-1 record in those first 14 starts. Since, the Lions are 11-9. That includes a 10-3 mark over the past 13 games. Goff plays well. The Lions win. In today’s QB driven NFL, it’s a story that’s not too hard to read.
Related: Detroit Lions standing in Sportsnaut’s Week 4 NFL power rankings
How Ben Johnson has changed the trajectory of the Detroit Lions offense
At first glance, Johnson wouldn’t seem to have the pedigree to lead an offense that’s averaging 28 points in its past 12 games. Prior to being promoted from tight ends coach to offensive coordinator ahead of last season, Johnson was a mere position coach in the NFL.
His previous stints before Detroit included working under Miami Dolphins head coaches Joe Philbin and Adam Gase. They’re not necessarily the who’s who of NFL head coaches in the modern era. About that? Campbell saw something in the assistant and ran with it after a more experienced offensive mind in Anthony Lynn proved to be an utter failure calling plays in Detroit in 2021 (25th in points, 22nd in total yards).
Johnson employs an Erhardt-Perkins offensive scheme that was made popular by former NFL coaches Ron Erhardt and Ray Perkins. Traditionally, this scheme utilizes the play-action at a great rate. The more modern method includes spreading out the wide receivers and opening up the offense for the quarterback.
Unlike the system Detroit ran under Lynn in Goff’s first season with the team, this seems to fit the quarterback’s strengths at a greater clip. Goff is completing a solid 64% of his passes throughout his career. He’s shown accuracy when throwing into open windows. Spreading out the offense with multiple receiver threats has been a boon for him.
It’s one of the major reasons why the Lions’ offense will continue to grow as the skill positions gain another playmaker and others get accustomed to their roles.
The Detroit Lions have skill to match the scheme
Goff’s first season with the Lions saw Jamaal Williams (3.9 yards per attempt) act as their leading rusher. Just a rookie at that point, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown led the squad with 90 catches. Meanwhile, Goff was sacked 35 times in 14 starts.
Boy, how things have changed since.
St. Brown has morphed into one of the top receivers in the NFL. This season alone, he’s caught 21 passes for 275 yards in three games. The former USC standout is also hauling in 78% of his targets with Goff boasting a 121.5 QB rating when throwing in his direction.
St. Brown is the perfect fit in the aforementioned scheme in that he’s as sure-handed as they get (seven drops in 292 career targets) and creates initial separation for open windows.
Detroit was criticized this past spring for spending a top-12 pick on running back Jahmyr Gibbs. Sure, the return has been mixed (139 rushing yards in three games). But Gibbs fits what Johnson likes to do with his running backs. That is to say, making them impactful in both aspects of the offense. It’s something the Lions preached heading into Gibbs’ rookie season.
“He carries the scalpel, and he can slice you up. He can hurt you in the pass game potentially. I’m talking about Gibbs obviously — get him out there and do a few more things because that’s kind of what I know,” Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell on Gibbs ahead of Week 1.
The more he gets comfortable in this offense, the more Gibbs will make an all-around impact.
Speaking of impacts, rookie tight end Sam LaPorta actually leads all players at his position with 186 receiving yards in three games. It doesn’t take a genius to realize why Detroit exhausted a second-round pick on the former Iowa standout given Johnson’s history coaching his position.
None of this takes into account suspended wide receiver Jameson Williams. The Lions were expecting big things from the former first-round pick entering his sophomore season before the Alabama product was suspended six games for betting on football games. It’s hard to imagine Williams not having an impact on the Lions’ progression on offense moving forward.
None of this would be working if Detroit didn’t boast one of the best offensive lines in football. After going down just 23 times in 17 starts last season, Goff has been sacked three times in as many games this year. His sack percentage of 2.8 is among the best in the game right now. Left tackle Penei Sewell and center Frank Ragnow lead a unit that just continues to mesh for the Lions.
The Lions are unlikely to score 70 points in a game. Jared Goff is not going to suddenly morph into Patrick Mahomes. At best, Gibbs is probably a poor man’s Christian McCaffrey. But when we put all of these pieces together at the right time, magical things are bound to happen.
We saw it when Detroit went into Kansas City and defeated the defending champion Chiefs in the opener. We could very well see it again in Green Bay come Thursday night. Once that happens, anything short of a dominating performance from this unit will become an exception to the rule.