The Rams’ trash has been the Lions’ treasure.
Jared Goff’s career looked like it would be DOA when he arrived in the Motor City in 2021. In fact, a significant number of pundits believed he was no more than a short-term stop gap until Detroit drafted its long-term quarterback of the future. Goff was simply the price to pay to acquire significant draft capital in exchange for Matthew Stafford.
Instead, Goff has been terrific with the Lions. He’s a key reason they’ve gone from perennial laughingstock to a dominant force, and now he has them just one game away from their first Super Bowl berth.
However, Detroit fans aren’t the only ones grateful for Goff. Those backing him have made a ton of money over the last three years.
Goff has been the most profitable quarterback against the spread since arriving in Detroit. He’s 36-17 against the spread (67.9%), leading Detroit to the best three-year stretch ATS for any team since the Patriots from 2016-18. He’s been terrific against winning teams, going 15-5 ATS versus opponents above .500. It’s the second-best mark in the NFL over that span behind only Joe Burrow. Meanwhile, the Lions have had at least 10 wins ATS in each of his three seasons at the helm. They only had one 10-win season ATS in the previous 26 years prior to his arrival.
Goff is no stranger to dramatic turnarounds, though. He actually began his career 0-7 ATS as a rookie with the Rams in 2016. Since then, he’s gone 70-45-2 ATS (61%), including a league-best 52-29-1 ATS (64%) over the last five seasons. He’s also made drastic strides away from home. The Lions went 7-2 on the road this year, which was the second-best record in the league. Meanwhile, Goff went 12-11 as the away team over his previous three seasons dating back to his last year with the Rams.
There’s a ton of early action backing the 49ers to cover in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, with 79% of the money on San Francisco as of Monday night. However, if anyone can prove the doubters wrong, it’s Goff. After all, it’s all he’s done since arriving in Detroit.
