After a shaky start to his Detroit tenure, Lions quarterback Jared Goff has played as well as almost any NFL signal-caller over the past three-plus years. In 2024, he posted personal bests in both passing yards (4,629) and touchdowns (37), while earning a career-high 111.8 passer rating.

Some concern is understandable regarding whether Goff can sustain that high-level play in 2025. With offensive coordinator Ben Johnson departing, it’s obvious that Goff, despite his strengths, has clear limitations as a quarterback.

Following the June retirement of center Frank Ragnow, ESPN’s Mina Kimes politely described Goff as a quarterback who is notably “pressure sensitive.”

Most quarterbacks see their performance decline under pressure compared to having a clean pocket, but detailed data supports the idea that Goff experiences one of the sharpest drop-offs when facing heat.

Pro Football Focus’ Mason Cameron analyzed the top-10 quarterbacks last season based on time to throw—split into less than and more than 2.5 seconds from snap to release (minimum of 100 dropbacks in each category).

Among QBs with more than 2.5 seconds to throw, names like Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Jayden Daniels, Kyler Murray, and Joe Burrow topped PFF’s passing grades. Goff ranked ninth on that list with a 77.5 grade and led the league in a couple of key areas in those situations.

Extending plays isn’t always about running. Tom Brady, not known for speed, thrived by maneuvering within the pocket to buy time. Goff displayed similar traits last season, and PFF’s data showed it was his best year executing those types of throws.

His challenge now is to maintain that surprising success under a new coordinator and without the NFL’s top center anchoring the line