Jared Goff’s showing against the Chicago Bears may stand as one of the greatest ever by a Detroit Lions quarterback.
Plenty of eye-popping numbers came from Detroit’s 52-21 dismantling of Chicago. The most striking might be the Lions’ 8.8 yards per play, a new franchise record that feels hard to believe given the offensive fireworks of recent seasons.
Yet there’s a statistic that may be even more impressive. At FTN Fantasy—home of the well-known DVOA metric—Aaron Schatz highlighted just how remarkable Goff’s day was. He finished 23-of-28 for 334 yards, five touchdowns, no sacks, and a 156.0 rating, even adding a six-yard scramble.
The metric Schatz used is DYAR, or “Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement.” It gauges a player’s output against what a replacement-level performer would produce. Each week Schatz publishes DYAR totals for quarterbacks, along with top receivers and runners.
Not only did Goff lead all passers in Week 2 with 258 DYAR—well ahead of Daniel Jones at 139—but his game also entered Lions’ history books.
“Pending opponent adjustments later this season, Goff just posted the No. 2 DYAR game for a Detroit quarterback since 1978,” Schatz wrote. “The only one higher came from Scott Mitchell in 1995 against a strong Vikings defense, when he logged 288 DYAR with 395 yards and four scores on 30-of-45 passing.”
That means Lions fans haven’t seen efficiency like this in three decades. In fact, across nearly 50 years of charting, it’s almost the best game ever. Should the Bears’ defense prove stronger than expected, Goff’s performance might even surpass Mitchell’s mark from 1995.
Head coach Dan Campbell didn’t hold back praise for his quarterback after the win.
“We’ve got a guy who makes the right decisions, processes fast, and puts the ball on target. I thought he was phenomenal,” Campbell said. “He stayed calm, executed with precision, and really took full control of the offense—it was great to watch.”
A performance like this will almost certainly put Goff in line for some league recognition as the week wraps up.
