Lions Get Bad News After Jared Goff’s Career Worst Game
The NFL is hitting two Minnesota Vikings players with punishments just hours before the team takes on the Detroit Lions.
The Detroit Lions have been a resilient team all season, but their latest loss may have sunk any hopes of repeating last season’s finish — and this time, a career-worst game from quarterback Jared Goff is to blame.
The Lions came into Sunday night’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles with a chance to climb into contention in the NFC North. But the offense struggled to get going in a 16-9 loss, one where Goff had the lowest completion percentage of his career and head coach Dan Campbell’s aggressive fourth-down calls blew up on the Lions.
The loss leaves the Lions in a big deficit in the NFC North and likely ended their hopes of repeating as the No. 1 overall seed in the conference.
Lions Must Regroup Once Again
The Lions did well to rebound from each of their first three losses this season, winning after each one and keeping alive their three-year streak of no back-to-back losses. But the loss to the Eagles on Sunday handed the Lions their fourth loss of the season and put them two games behind Philadelphia for the top spot in the conference.
The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy noted that Sunday’s loss will likely make it impossible for the Lions to finish atop the NFC like they did in 2024.
“The Lions are 6-4, third in the NFC North and on the outside looking in for the playoff race,” Pouncy wrote. “This is not where they were expected to be after 11 weeks. They just lost a measuring-stick game against a contender in their conference, and any lingering hope of securing a first-round bye is just about lost after this outing.”
Pouncy noted that the Lions still have time to get back in the hunt for the division crown, facing the hapless New York Giants next week followed by a rematch with the Green Bay Packers. But Pouncy suggested that the Lions look nothing like the dominant team that won the division in 2023 and 2024.
“You never quite know what to expect from this group on a week-to-week basis — something you haven’t been able to say about them since they turned the corner in 2023,” Pouncy wrote.
Jared Goff Looked Lost Against Eagles
Goff’s performance was one of the biggest factors in Sunday’s loss. The veteran quarterback struggled against the aggressive defense, completing a career-worst 37.8% of his passes, going 14-for-37.
Goff took two sacks and had several passes batted down, often leaving the Lions with long third downs. The Lions rarely converted from there, going 3-for-12 on third downs and 0-for-5 on fourth-down attempts.
The Lions suffered from some costly miscues outside of Goff’s poor performance. After wide receiver Jameson Williams caught a 40-yard touchdown tie the game at 6-all late in the first half, the receiver celebrated by jumping onto the goal post upright and drew a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Lions went on to miss the long extra point, losing out on a chance to take the lead.
Campbell also drew criticism for his repeated fourth-down calls, which were falling flat in the face of an aggressive Eagles defense.
Brock Purdy Draws Blunt Words After 49ers Return
The San Francisco 49ers secured a 41-22 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 11 on November 16 at State Farm Stadium. Moreover, it marked the return of Brock Purdy from injury.
With Mac Jones performing well in his absence, all eyes were on Purdy to hit the ground running, which he did. The 49ers quarterback completed 19 of 26 pass attempts for 200 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Purdy’s return looked far different from the way he came back from injury for the September 28 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. After the win over the Cardinals, Christian McCaffrey spoke with reporters and shared his thoughts on Purdy’s performance.
“He was vintage, Brock,” McCaffrey said (h/t KNBR). “Yeah, and that’s a huge compliment. He was poised, made some great plays, made some huge third-down throws, kept us in the game,
“To miss games like that is really hard, and to come back in the middle of the year. I think people just watch and like, Oh, he had a good game, whatever. But to be out that long and to come in and do what he did today is extremely impressive.”
George Kittle Also Talks About Brock Purdy’s Return
Two of the three touchdown passes that Purdy completed against Arizona were to George Kittle, who also had six receptions and 67 receiving yards. Whether it’s Jones or Purdy, Kittle is beginning to hit his stride at a critical time in the season. The veteran tight end, like McCaffrey, was happy to have the 49ers’ starting quarterback back.
“Brock’s presence in the huddle is just so elite,” Kittle said (h/t Nick Wagoner of ESPN). “He plays the game with this joy that’s so infectious, and it’s just so much fun to play football with him. … He was definitely feeling it. I think he’s got the confidence; he’s got his swagger.”
49ers Needed a Bounce Back Win
After losing to the Los Angeles Rams in the fashion that they did, San Francisco needed a win against a struggling Cardinals team. Moreover, with Purdy looking like his usual self, it quiets the national football media, at least for this week, over the quarterback situation in the Bay Area.
Moreover, Purdy spoke about his return to the field and what it meant to him to be back for this final stretch of games as the 49ers push for a playoff spot.
“It’s my first time missing that much time in a season, and for me, it was new,” Purdy said (h/t Nick Wagoner of ESPN). “How do I handle it? … It was frustrating. I had to learn how to deal with it and mentally just take it one day at a time, one week at a time, and trust that there’s a process to this. … But overall, it felt good… I feel great now.”
San Francisco will now turn the page for Week 12, and they will be facing another team that’s in the middle of a division fight of their own, the Carolina Panthers, on November 24 at Levi’s Stadium.
