Jared Goff. A man of mystery. He is perhaps the most misunderstood quarterback in the league. In 2017, he was the first overall pick out of the University of California. The future looked bright for him. He was the face of a franchise about to take over the Los Angeles market. Just two years later, Goff led the Rams to the Super Bowl. He was on top of the world, right? He had to be in the same conversation as Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen as the best young quarterbacks in the league, no? Surprisingly not. Goff was actually on his way out of Los Angeles just two, short, underwhelming years after the Super Bowl appearance.

Goff was traded as a salary dump in a league-defining trade to bring longtime Lion loser Matthew Stafford to LA. Goff’s ridiculous contract warranted an extra first-round pick to be given up in the trade for Stafford. How could a young and seemingly good quarterback have such a fall-off to the point where his head coach, Sean McVay, gave up on him? Well, simply, he didn’t meet expectations. The Rams were loaded year after year, and they were expected to be annual Super Bowl contenders annually. Goff, however, led them to only one measly divisional-round appearance after the Super Bowl. He got the tag of being a bust. Once one receives this tag, it is nearly impossible to lose.

Goff was traded before the 2021 season to the god-awful Detroit Lions, where he was tagged as a bridge quarterback. He was supposed to get the Lions through a few bad years before they draft their quarterback of the future and leave Goff in the dust. However, Goff may be throwing a wrench in those plans and, in turn, saving his career. Goff is out to an amazing and unexpected start to the 2022 season. He and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson have the Lions’ offense playing at a historic rate. The offense is putting up crazy numbers that haven’t been seen since the 2000 Rams, the team nicknamed “the greatest show on turf.” In this stretch, Goff has the most passing touchdowns in the NFL. He also has more completions than Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. Nobody in the league saw this coming, and it proposes the question, what is Jared Goff?

Is he a bridge quarterback just keeping the Lions afloat until they get their star quarterback? Or, is he a viable option for the future, allowing the Lions to use their draft capital on their defense? Only time will tell, but at this point, all signs are pointing toward the latter. The Lions General Manager, Brad Holmes, will have quite the decision to make this coming offseason, and it could determine whether the Lions will stay in the dungeon of the NFL for the rest of eternity or will finally step out of the darkness and give the loyal Lions fans a product they deserve.