GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Seattle Seahawks battled hard and gave Detroit’s defense plenty of trouble, but Jared Goff and the Lions offense made all the plays that mattered to secure the 42-29 win on Monday night.
While not quite a perfect performance — he was tackled for a safety late in the game that gave Seattle new life — the box score read as much for Goff. He finished 18 for 18 with 292 yards and two touchdown passes. He also caught a 7-yard pass for a touchdown from Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Goff’s game made NFL history, becoming the first quarterback in the league to attempt more than 10 passes in a game without throwing an incompletion.
Ironically, even a “perfect” night wasn’t enough to earn Goff a game ball. Instead, head coach Dan Campbell recognized offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, wide receiver Jameson Williams and safety Kerby Joseph, who sealed the game with a last-minute interception.
To his credit, Campbell praised his quarterback while addressing the media, poking some fun at himself.
“Yeah, well, I just gave the game ball to somebody else, so I feel awful right now,” Campbell said. “I knew he played a heck of a game. I did not realize he was perfect. I did not know he was literally 18 for 18. But I knew he played really well. You could feel it. He found his rhythm early, and I thought he was seeing the field, played with rhythm, he had to move a little bit in the pocket.”
Goff has gone 36 for 41 over his last two games. According to the team, his 87.8% completion rate is tied for second-best in league history since the AFL/NFL merger in 1970, factoring in quarterbacks who attempted at least 40 passes.
After the game, Goff admitted he wasn’t sure if he was perfect or not.
“I knew I did it in the first half last week, so I was aware of it then, and I was kind of aware of it today — middle of the third quarter, I couldn’t think of one,” Goff told reporters in a postgame interview. “But then I threw one out of bounds that ended up being offensive pass interference, and I was like, ‘Does that count?’ I didn’t know if that counted or not.”
Goff and the Lions (3-1) get to enjoy a bye week before traveling to Dallas (2-2) for a rematch of last year’s controversial Week 17 showdown. With 23 seconds to play, the Lions scored a touchdown and instead of kicking the game-tying extra point, they went for two to take the lead. The conversion was successful but negated by a controversial penalty. The Cowboys ultimately held off for a 20-19 win, giving Dallas higher seeding in the playoffs.
