Jared Goff claims 'upper hand' in cat-and-mouse battle with Vikings' Brian Flores

Goff completed 49-of-58 passes for 511 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in two wins over the Vikings last season.

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) makes a pass against Minnesota Vikings during the second half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Anyone who has watched the latest season of "Quarterback" on Netflix knows that Lions quarterback Jared Goff loves playing the "cat-and-mouse" game against Minnesota's chaotic scheme that defensive coordinator Brian Flores runs.

"A ton, a ton," Goff said when asked by Kay Adams how much respect he has for Flores. "And I've been on the wrong side of his defense a lot, a lot of times. And I've been on the right side of it too, where it's been an immense challenge to try to overcome some of the things he does on defense, and when you're able to do that and have success against his defense, you feel pretty proud of yourself the way you handle things, because there is so much going on.

"But yeah, I think early in my career, he got me a couple of times, and the last couple of years, I'd say I've have the upper hand. So we're even now, and I got a few more games against him this year."

Goff and the Lions swept the Vikings last season, winning 31-29 in Minnesota midway through the season and then smacking them 31-9 in Week 18 to win the NFC North and secure the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

"They're a tough defense and you gotta be disciplined. They blitz on almost every snap so they're trying to affect you with the pressure. They run Cover Zero a lot, which is where they're sending everyone, essentially. They're blitzing one more than you have the ability to block with and it's man coverage everywhere and they have no safety on the back end," Goff said on Netflix.

Goff completed 49-of-58 passes for 511 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in the two games. Clearly, Goff had answers for everything Flores threw at him, making the cat and mouse game even more intriguing ahead of the two matchups this coming season (Nov. 2 and Dec. 25).