Happy Birthday to Cal’s second-ever No. 1 overall NFL draft pick.
But 32 years old? How did that happen?
It’s eye-opening to come to grips with the fact that Jared Goff is in his 11th pro season.
Goff’s NFL career began with the duality of early success & high-profile disappointment. He helped the Los Angeles Rams to the Super Bowl in just his third season, but he couldn’t get the Rams into the end zone in a 13-3 loss to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
Goff wasn’t derailed by that result nor by the Rams’ decision to trade him to the chronically terrible Detroit Lions after the 2020 season.
His response: Posting a record of 51-35-1 over five-plus seasons as the leader of the Lions’ offense.
Two seasons ago, Goff helped Detroit reach the NFL title game, where they lost 34-31 to the 49ers, missing the franchise’s first Super Bowl bid by three points.
The five-time Pro Bowl selection is being mentioned this season as a worthy MVP candidate. CBS Sports places him No. 3, trailing only Brock Purdy and Patrick Mahomes in its current NFL quarterback power rankings.
Short of failing so far to win a Super Bowl, Goff’s NFL career must be regarded as a success.
Consider these achievements:
— Through five games this season, Goff has passed for 1,485 yards with 12 touchdowns and no interceptions.
— At his current pace, he will pass for more than 5,000 yards for the first time in his career after four consecutive seasons of at least 4,000 yards. Aaron Rodgers never reached 5K.
— Goff also in on his way to throwing at least 30 touchdown passes for the fourth year in a row. Brady never did that.
— Over his 10-plus seasons, Goff has ascended to No. 23 in career passing yards at 41,107. Since the start of this season, he has passed the likes of Johnny Unitas (40,239) and his childhood football hero, Joe Montana (40,551).
— He also is currently 23rd all-time in career TD passes with 268. That leaves him just five behind Montana.
It’s a far different game today when Johnny U played, and even a different version of football than Montana played. No one is suggesting that Goff has risen to the level of Unitas, Montana or Brady.
Quarterbacks throw more often in this era , play longer seasons and benefit from rules created to protect quarterbacks and encourage offense.
But all current NFL quarterbacks enjoy those advantages over their historical predecessors.
Bottom line: Jared Goff is as good or better than most of us could have envisioned. And his story is not done.
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