Jared Goff’s status as Rams’ starting QB still a question mark
In the Los Angeles Rams’ 32-18 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Saturday, the play of quarterback Jared Goff was not an issue.
He finished 21-of-27 for 174 passing yards, with one touchdown and most importantly, no turnovers in the Green Bay cold.
Goff was sacked four times, so perhaps he could have done a little better job of getting the ball out early or escaping for extra years. But overall, Goff made the plays that were there to be made and kept his team in the game.
However, the 26-year-old Cal product did not exactly receive a ringing endorsement from head coach Sean McVay that he will be the starting quarterback for the Rams moving forward next season
“I think he did a nice job,” McVay said, when asked if Goff proved anything with his performance. “I thought he improved on last week. I think you really saw a guy that stepped in and he did what he could. I thought he made some plays. I thought he saw the field well, like I was mentioning. He did a good job today.”
So, is Goff your quarterback moving forward?
“Yeah, he’s the quarterback right now,” McVay said.
For his part, Goff said all the right things afterwards.
“We didn’t win the game,” said Goff, when asked if he took pride in gutting through the game with a broken thumb. “My job is to win the game. I was able to do some good things out there today, but my job is to win the game. Absolutely no moral victories, especially in the playoffs.”
Look, McVay chose to start backup quarterback John Wolford over Goff when he was healthy enough to play a week ago against the Seattle Seahawks.
McVay was even upset with himself that Wolford got injured on a designed quarterback running play in the first quarter that the head coach called.
“John was getting into a rhythm,” McVay said after the Seattle game. “I thought he was seeing the field really well. I’m really mad at myself for calling that stupid play that left him susceptible to getting injured.”
The following week, with Wolford dealing with a neck stinger, McVay did not announce Goff would be the starter until Thursday, when it became obvious Wolford would not play because he could not practice.
Look around the rest of the NFC West and the Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers all have quarterbacks that can make plays with the feet. That’s not the case with Jared Goff.
McVay even ran the Wildcat with rookie Cam Akers against the Packers as changeup to get a numbers advantage in the running game against the defense.
As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk points out, Goff is owed a little over $43 million in guaranteed money through 2022.
So, it appears the Rams will have to figure out a path to improve the quarterback position with Goff still on the roster next season. That could mean competition from within the building with Wolford or bringing in a veteran quarterback to compete for the job.
Regardless, it appears that changes are afoot at quarterback for the Rams.
