Wednesday open thread: Can Jared Goff surpass Matthew Stafford’s worst season in Detroit?

Things aren’t looking great for the Detroit Lions in 2021. Although it feels like they might be better, they didn’t have anywhere to go after the past three seasons other than up. The Lions have a new quarterback in Jared Goff at the helm, and very little to support him, so how much better they are is subjective.

Question of the day: Can Jared Goff surpass Matthew Stafford’s worst season in Detroit?

For starters, we have to define how we’re measuring better or worse, and in this case, we’ll use how many yards they pass for.

In Stafford’s tenure in Detroit, counting only complete or near-complete seasons played, his lowest passing yards total came in 2018 with 3,777 yards. In comparison, Goff has surpassed that total in all four of his seasons as a full-time starter. However, in two of those seasons (2017 and 2020), he slid past that margin by a difference of 27 and 175 yards, respectively.

Those performances by Goff also come with a fairly efficient passing attack. By no means has Goff had superstars at receiver, but he definitely hasn’t been shorthanded either, complemented by the likes of Brandin Cooks, Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, and Tyler Higbee. Higbee is arguably the best at his respective position out of that group, bringing Goff into a similar situation in Detroit with T.J. Hockenson being the most established of the receiving group.

This situation certainly mirrors Goff’s situation with the Rams in years past, but the biggest difference we’ve yet to see is whether the Lions have their own equivalent of Sean McVay to play the role of quarterback whisperer.

Will Goff surpass Stafford’s worst passing season in 2021? Personally, I think being in a new system with an infantile receiving corps will keep Goff below the magic number. Let us know your thoughts in the poll below.