At one point during the season, Jared Goff showcased his incredible chemistry with Amon-Ra St. Brown by completing 30 consecutive passes to him. The streak, which extended briefly into the following week against the Houston Texans, was extraordinary in many ways. According to Next Gen Stats, which evaluates the difficulty of each throw, the odds of such a streak happening were estimated at 1-in-780,000—a mere 0.0001 percent chance.
Looking back to late in the 2021 season, when St. Brown broke out as a rookie, Goff also began to elevate his play. The improvement in both players seemed to coincide, likely feeding off each other’s growth. Since then, they’ve quietly become one of the most productive quarterback-wide receiver pairs in the league.
After the Lions’ Week 9 win over the Packers, head coach Dan Campbell couldn’t help but praise the unique bond between Goff and St. Brown.
“The connection between those two? It’s special,”Campbell said.
“Those two have been clicking now for four years—really three and a half. It started about halfway through that ’21 season, and it’s just built from there. If you’re a quarterback, we’ve got a dang good one, but it’s easy to throw to a guy like St. Brown because he gets open, he’s got body control, balance, he can separate, he’s got quickness, he’s got play speed, strong hands.”
Campbell added that the duo’s connection has grown to the point where
“they can think without speaking. They know each other, what they’re getting ready to do… It’s special, and they make each other better.”
Recently, former Lions quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky ranked his top 20 quarterback-wide receiver duos for the 2024 season. Goff and St. Brown earned the No. 4 spot, trailing only Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown, and Sam Darnold and Justin Jefferson. Considering recent developments with Hurts and Brown, there’s even an argument Goff and St. Brown could climb higher on the list.
Orlovsky highlighted their impressive stats for the season: 81 completions, 892 yards, and 10 touchdowns. He also noted their unmatched ability to move the chains, with a league-leading 53 first downs and zero drops. Goff’s completion rate when targeting St. Brown is a remarkable 81.8%, which is 13.2% above expectations, according to Next Gen Stats.
“This is the best chain-moving crew in the NFL,” Orlovsky said. “When Detroit needs to make a play, these two deliver.”
That statement perfectly captures the essence of the Goff-St. Brown connection. In clutch moments, Goff instinctively looks to St. Brown, and while defenses know this, stopping it is another story entirely. Their bond is a testament to the hard work and trust they’ve built over the years, and it’s paying dividends for the Lions.
