On Sunday, quarterback Jared Goff will start his 70th career regular season game as the Detroit Lions quarterback. That's significant because he spent his first five seasons in Los Angeles with the Rams and started 69 total games for the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2016.
So when he steps on the field for Detroit's first offensive series Sunday in Cincinnati, his career will officially be more Detroit Lions than Los Angeles Rams.
"That was cool, I heard that when I did my radio thing earlier this week. I was like, 'Oh wow, that's cool.' I knew that was coming up," Goff said this week. "But yeah, I've certainly become a Lion now in my career.
"When I look back on it, it's going to be majority Lions. Hopefully, a lot more majority as we go on. But yeah, it's been a fun journey here, it's been fun to grow into and to be a part of this city. And to now I guess flip the scale in that way is cool."
Goff led the Lions to back-to-back NFC North division titles and won the team's first playoff game(s) in over 30 years leading Detroit to wins over the Rams and Buccaneers on the way to the NFC Championship Game in 2023.
In his 69 games as the Rams starter, Goff had a 42-27 record. In his 69 games as a Lions starter, he's 42-26-1.
Goff is playing at an MVP level to start the 2025 season with career highs in completion percentage (73.8), passer rating (113.0) and QBR (81.7). He's embraced Detroit just as the city has embraced him, and he said this week he hopes to be the quarterback for the Lions for a long time to come.
BEST AROUND
Lions offensive coordinator John Morton has been coaching in the NFL for 20-plus years and has been around a lot of great wide receivers, including Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Tim Brown from his days in Oakland on the Raiders' offensive coaching staff.
But being around Lions All-Pro receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown as an offensive assistant in Detroit in 2022 and now as the offensive coordinator this season, Morton is convinced St. Brown is the most complete receiver he's been around.
"I told St. Brown the other day, 'You're the best I've ever been around. Run and pass. The way you prepare, the professionalism,' what he does in the offseason," Morton said this week when asked about St. Brown, who currently leads the NFL with six touchdown receptions.
"He reminds me of Anquan Boldin - they just come to work. All they want to do is dominate every single play. But I told him, I said, 'I don't really care what the coverage is, you're going to get open' and Jared (Goff) has that comfort level with him. When you've got that, it's kind of easy to call plays."
On top of those six touchdowns, St. Brown has 27 catches for 307 yards and has been one of the big catalysts behind Detroit's 3-1 start and No. 1 scoring offense.
St. Brown said this week that Morton has told him directly that he's the best, something St. Brown admitted he had a hard time wrapping his head around when he realized the caliber of receivers Morton has been around in his coaching career.
"And in my head I'm like, 'Didn't you coach Jerry Rice? There's no way I'm the best,'" St. Brown said. "But like I said, it means a lot, it means the world, but I got to keep proving it, man. Just because he says it now doesn't mean much if I can't keep doing it."
50-50
Veteran defensive lineman Alim McNeill returned to practice this week for the first time since tearing his ACL Dec. 15. McNeill's been a limited participant in practice so far this week but has seen his reps increase. Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Friday he hasn't ruled out the possibility of McNeill playing Sunday in Cincinnati.
"We've talked about it," Campbell said before practice Friday. "I don't know. I think right now it's probably 50-50. I know he wants to play but we want to be smart too. This will be one of those decisions we make after practice."
Both Campbell and defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said McNeill has looked really good in practice this week.
EXTRA POINT
Campbell said the knee injury All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph has been dealing with to start the year is trending in the right direction and it was good to see him out on the practice field Friday after sitting out practice Wednesday and Thursday.
