Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff embrace on the field after the Lions win the opening game of the 2023 NFL season. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Jared Goff is 2-0 against Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
That’s an impressive stat for the Detroit Lions quarterback. Among the other current starting quarterbacks Mahomes has faced multiple times, the three-time Super Bowl MVP has defeated every one of them at least once.
Goff’s streak, which will be on the line when the Lions and Chiefs play on Sunday Night Football, dates back to when he was with the Los Angeles Rams and to Mahomes’ first year as starter.
“I’ve been on the right side of two of them,” Goff said. “Those were two down-to-the-wire games.”
Their first matchup on November 18, 2018 was played in Los Angeles because of poor field conditions at the original scheduled location in Mexico City. In the 54-51 thriller won by the Rams, the quarterbacks combined for 891 yards and 10 touchdowns, though Mahomes had three interceptions.
“It was an epic one,” Goff said. “It kind of seemed like whoever had the ball last would win.”
Goff’s latest win against Mahomes came in the season opener of 2023 when the defending champions Chiefs unveiled their Super Bowl LVII banner.
The Lions won 21-20, but the Chiefs were without two of their best players. Tight end Travis Kelce had a back injury, and defensive lineman Chris Jones viewed the game from the luxury box as he engaged in a contract holdout.
When asked about that contest, Lions head coach Dan Campbell laughed, noting how many mistakes both teams made.
“You could tell it was the first game of the season,” he said. “There were a lot of things that, boy, you wish you could have done better.”
Indeed, Mahomes went 22 of 35 for 253 yards but was undone by multiple drops from wide receivers Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney. One from the latter led to a pick-six touchdown by then-rookie safety Brian Branch.
Fast forward two years, and the Lions are no longer a plucky upstart. The 4-1 team is entrenched as one of the NFL’s best.
The Present-Day Matchup
Detroit has the No. 1 scoring offense at 34.8 per game, and that starts with Goff. Having thrown for 1,187 yards, 12 touchdowns and just two interceptions, he is second in the NFL with a quarterback rating of 120.7 and leads all passers with a completion percentage of 75.2.
“The quarterback’s playing great,” Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton said. “It’s a great challenge for us.”
Of course, the Lions will face the challenge of going against Mahomes, who has represented the gold standard of quarterback play for half a decade.
Mahomes is so good at reading defenses that Campbell said disguising blitzes and coverages is very difficult.
“He can smell a rat from a mile away,” Campbell said. “This guy sees it all.”
He’s also incredibly hard to bring down. Mahomes can spin out, duck or dart away from defenders. Campbell said the Lions can’t jump on his pump fakes and must keep a solid base.
On Monday night the Jacksonville Jaguars looked to have him corralled twice. On a 3rd and 9 in the first half, safety Andrew Wingard hit Mahomes on a blitz, but the quarterback still connected with Tyquan Thornton for 32 yards. Then, on the Chiefs’ last drive of the game, Jaguars defensive lineman Maason Smith had his hands around the quarterback’s waist, but Mahomes broke the attempted tackle to convert a first down.
“He’s dangerous,” Campbell said. “He’s as elusive as there is in our game.”
Their Respective Quarterback Contracts
As good as both of these passers are, one could argue they’re underpaid. Goff ranks seventh in the NFL in average annual value (AAV) at $53 million. He signed that four-year, $212 million contract extension in May of 2024.
Incredibly, Mahomes is tied for 14th in AAV at $45 million, even though he has two MVPs. His 10-year, $450 million contract, though is the longest in the NFL. Because it’s so lengthy, it gives the Chiefs some salary cap flexibility because they can move money around during the duration of Mahomes’ deal.
Doing so has helped the Chiefs stay on top of the AFC for three straight years, but now they find themselves at 2-3. If they want to make the playoffs — let alone a fourth straight Super Bowl — they must start stacking wins, beginning with Sunday night’s game.
“It’s extremely important,” Mahomes said. “There’s no way around it.”
Goff-Mahomes III indeed has high stakes.
Goff won the second duel, which was also an NBC night game at Arrowhead Stadium. Campbell, though, cautioned from reading too much into that contest.
“That was good,” he said. “But that was also two years ago.”