Jared Goff Ranked 23rd-Best NFL Quarterback

Lions fans, whether you like it or not, Jared Goff will more than likely walk into the 2022 NFL season as Detroit's starting quarterback.

The sixth-year pro experienced an up-and-down campaign in his first season in the Motor City.

In 14 games, he completed 67.2 percent of his passes, and threw for 3,245 yards, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

In Goff's roughest stretch in his debut season with the Lions (spanning Weeks 5-10; Detroit had a bye in Week 9), the former L.A. Rams signal-caller threw for just one touchdown and a measly 5.87 yards per pass attempt. During this same five-game period, he turned it over five total times (four interceptions and one fumble), plus produced a paltry 72.1 passer rating.

To put it simply, he didn't look like a competent starting passer during the aforementioned stretch of games.

But, then came his final five games of the 2021 season, when he looked like a much different player under center.

In those last five contests, the 27-year-old -- while fighting through an oblique ailment and then later a knee injury -- threw for 11 touchdowns, while tossing just two interceptions. He also amassed a 107.1 passer rating.

Goff's late-season production offers a glimmer of hope that he can be a decent "bridge" quarterback in year No. 2 in Motown.

For his efforts, NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal ranked the Lions signal-caller as the 23rd-best passer in the NFL in '21.

As Rosenthal writes,

"Goff made do with a rag-tag group of receivers led by fourth-round rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown and a bunch of castoffs. A strong offensive line and aggressive coaching staff give Goff a chance to improve in his second season with the Lions, but he's settling into a career as a starter just below the Dalton Line. If Goff is your guy, the search continues for The Guy."

Meanwhile, Rosenthal ranked Matthew Stafford, the guy who Goff replaced in Detroit, as the fifth-best QB in the league this past season.

Stafford, who suited up for 12 seasons with the Lions, not only was instrumental in leading the Rams to a Super Bowl title in his first season in Los Angeles. But, the now 34-year-old gunslinger also matched a career-high for touchdown passes in the regular season (41) and a career-best mark for completion percentage in the regular season (67.2 percent).

In totality, Stafford played in 21 games during the 2021 campaign (17 regular season contests and four postseason ones), and completed 67.7 percent of his throws. He also threw for a combined 50 touchdowns, 20 interceptions and 6,074 yards.

Not too shabby for the 13th-year pro.

As Rosenthal pens,

"Stafford got a smidge too much credit during a regular season in which his week-to-week consistency didn't match his numbers. Now Stafford is weirdly not getting enough credit for elevating in the playoffs. That was easily his best four-game stretch of the season. It came against three challenging NFC defenses and without two top wideouts and his tight end by the second half of the Super Bowl.

Yes, there was the drop by 49ers cornerback Jaquiski Tartt. But Stafford cut way down on his turnover-worthy plays (only one per game) and hit a way higher percentage of big-time throws in the playoffs. If he played that well through the regular season, he'd have contended for MVP. Instead, he'll have to settle for knowing he played his absolute best in the moments that mattered most. I struggled to sort out the QB ranks from Nos. 3-7, and Stafford gets extra credit for playing so well in the playoffs."

Fair to say that based on the early returns, the Rams got the better end of the Stafford-Goff blockbuster trade from last offseason.