The Detroit Lions fell well short of expectations and missed the playoffs this season. We’re doing these earlier than anyone expected, but it’s time to look back on 2025 before moving ahead. Over the next week-plus, MLive will hand out reviews for each of the team’s position groups. Today: Quarterback.
QUARTERBACK
Starter: Jared Goff
Backup: Kyle Allen
Key stats: Goff completed 68% of his passes for 4,564 yards with 34 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He was sacked 38 times, setting a new career-high mark to highlight some of the troubles he faced. Five of Goff’s 14 turnovers on the season came in the team’s season-ending loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas. Goff faced the eighth-most dropbacks under pressure in the NFL this season.
Ben’s grade: A-
Breakdown: Jared Goff did his best this season. That’s the best way to put the situation he was forced into. An offensive line that struggled out of the gates and never truly found its footing, not to mention a mid-season play-caller swap, was dumped on him.
Goff still finished the season second in passing yards, fifth in completion percentage, second in passing yards per game (268.5) and second in touchdowns. For the second straight year, he also had two receivers cross the 1,000-yard mark in Amon-Ra. St. Brown and Jameson Williams. On top of those challenges already mentioned, Goff had to finish the season’s second half without the ultra-reliable tight end Sam LaPorta.
There is no quarterback controversy around these parts, now or in the future, as Dan Campbell left no room for hot takes or imagination regarding Goff.
“Jared Goff is a stud,” The Lions coach said late last month. “He’s an absolute stud. We’re fortunate to have him as a quarterback. He’s a winning quarterback in this league. He played at a very high level all season long. He played even better than he played the year before, and he’s continued to play better.
“We’re thankful to have him. I’m thankful to have him. He’s an absolute stud. He’s a pro. He’s going nowhere.”
Goff is never going to be a dual-threat magician who can make something out of nothing. He ran into issues on third down and in the red zone, without LaPorta carving defenses, and his offensive line was unable to hold steady. The interior offensive line issues hit Goff hard, as two of his worst games of the season came against the Vikings and their ability to create pressure.
Pro Football Focus ranked Goff 21st of 41 quarterbacks against pressure this season. His completion percentage dipped to 50.8% with heat coming, when compared to 75.9% when kept clean.
For Goff, it’s all about hoping the offense gets restocked and for LaPorta’s back to heal up in time for the 2026 campaign. He’s as accurate as they come, and the Lions had built an offense up until this point perfectly crafted to his strengths and weaknesses.
St. Brown and Williams are as good a receiver duo as they come in this league. Goff has his precise killer in St. Brown, with the two locked in on another level when it comes to timing and trust. Then, there is the growing Williams, who hit another 1,000-yard season with Goff, as the pair made a killing on crossers.
Isaac TeSlaa’s late-season development coming to light provides Goff a true vertical 50-50 threat. The veteran quarterback got six touchdowns out of the rookie wideout, with eight catches and more than 100 yards across the final three games.
The Lions have built an impressive offense filled with versatile and electric playmakers. But Goff needs an improved offensive line to pick defenses apart at the consistent levels everyone has come to expect.
He’ll also be going through another offensive coordinator switch. Whether Campbell continues to call plays or not, whenever that hire is made, is the next decision. Goff has clicked with Campbell, calling the plays in the past, and said he likes the coach’s work in that role. But we’ve also seen what he’s capable of crafting when Campbell hands those duties off.
“Yeah, there’s been challenges, but it’s part of the job,” Goff said last month. “It’s – there’s ups and downs through the season. We would’ve liked to get on a little bit of a stretch there at some point in the last eight games and be able to string a few together and get out of that adversity. But we weren’t able to, and it sucks, and I wish there was a magic potion that would have fixed everything, but there isn’t.
“It’s about work and doing the right thing over and over and being on the same page and communication and execution, the whole thing.”
Kyle Allen, Goff’s primary backup all season, is a pending free agent. Allen won the job from Hendon Hooker in decisive fashion in training camp and the preseason. C.J. Beathard, who was on the practice squad all season, is back on the free-agent market.
