Matthew Stafford & Jared Goff by the Numbers
It will be both Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff revenge games on Sunday as they will be playing against their former teams. The Rams are trying to get to 6-1, while the Lions are still looking for their first win of the season. Goff has also taken a lot of heat from his head coach in the past couple of weeks as the losses have really piled up for the second year in a row.
Let's take a look at how both quarterbacks have looked this season and how that will be a major factor in this matchup.
Matthew Stafford:
Stafford has been a revelation since the trade and looks like the player we saw from his early years with the Lions when he had Calvin Johnson. Cooper Kupp is never going to be anywhere near Johnson's level, but he's the best WR1 that Stafford has had since Johnson was in the NFL. Kupp has 653 yards on 46 receptions with seven touchdowns as he's already on pace to shatter his numbers from last year with Goff. For that season, Kupp finished with 974 yards and three touchdowns on 92 receptions. Having a player like Kupp does wonders for any good quarterback that comes over from another team as Stafford was used to throwing to Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay each game. No disrespect to those two players, but they aren't as good as Kupp is.
Sean McVay has also played a role in Stafford being better this season due to the offense he runs. There's a lot more passing involved (an air raid attack) and it makes sense because that's where the league is trending. McVay likely knew his team wouldn't be able to win a ring with Goff there, which is why the move happened. Stafford has 16 touchdowns to four interceptions with 1,838 yards in his first six games. He's also completing nearly 70% of his passes while also having a passer rating of 116.6. For comparison, Stafford has never had a passer rating that high during a season. McVay has been able to coach him to his strengths, which is why he's been having so much success. If Stafford keeps this up, the Rams won't just win this game on Sunday, they'll win a lot more down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Jared Goff
It's been anything but fun and roses for Goff since the trade. Going from a pass-heavy offense in McVay's to one with the Lions has been a big adjustment as Dan Campbell has tried to run the ball a lot more. With that, Goff's numbers have suffered as he only has 1,505 yards with seven touchdowns to four interceptions. The lack of elite talent on offense has also hurt Goff as his best players in the passing game are T.J. Hockenson, De'Andre Swift, and Amon-Ra St. Brown. All three of those players are good, but they don't stack up to Kupp, Robert Woods and Tyler Higbee. The Lions definitely needed a change after all this losing but going from Stafford to Goff may not have been the way to go about it.
Yes, the Lions are in a rebuild but Goff is going to have to play the game of his life if Detroit is to win on Sunday. His best game thus far was on Sept. 12 against the 49ers (Week 1). He finished with 338 yards passing with three touchdowns to one interception. Since then, Goff has just four touchdowns and three interceptions in five games. L.A. also has one of the best defenses in the NFL coming into this matchup, so Goff really will have his work cut out for him in this one.
