Lions HC Dan Campbell Admits ‘Awful’ Mistake on Jared Goff

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell forgot to check the box score before handing out the game ball on Monday night.

The Lions dismantled the previously unbeaten Seattle Seahawks on September 30, winning 42-29 while quarterback Jared Goff threw a perfect game — 18-for-18 passing for 292 yards and two touchdowns. Goff even added a touchdown reception on a trick play.

But Campbell admitted that when it came time to hand out the game ball, he skipped over Goff.

“I just gave the game ball to someone else, so I feel awful,” Campbell said after the game. “I knew he played a heck of a game. I did not know he was perfect.”

Campbell said the game ball instead went to wide receiver Jameson Williams, who made two catches for 80 yards and a touchdown.

Jared Goff Makes History

Goff set an NFL record with his performance, becoming the quarterback with the most passes in a game without an incompletion. As Larry Lage of The Associated Press noted, the previous record was set by Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner in 2005 when he went 10-for-10 in a game against the Houston Texans.

“It’s a cool thing,” Goff said. “I’m just happy we got the win.”

But Goff also pointed out that he fell nearly short of perfection, throwing an incomplete pass that was negated by a penalty.

“I was like, does that count?” Goff said after the game.

The Lions quarterback also made some personal history, catching a touchdown for the first time in his career. Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson drew up some trickery with the Lions deep in Seattle territory in the third quarter. Goff pitched the ball to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown then ran a route toward the goal line, catching an 8-yard touchdown from his top receiver.

Lions Turn on the Offense

The 42-point performance was the highest output for Detroit’s offense this year. After averaging 27.1 points per game last season, the Lions had not scored more than 26 points in any game before Monday’s win over the Seahawks.

Campbell said the team may need to win both high-scoring and low-scoring games this season.

“So, we found our rhythm. Every week is going to be different,” he said. “This was a little bit of a track meet, whereas these first few games have been more of these low-scoring. Our defense has been able to, you score 20 points, you’re winning. And so, every game is different. You find a way to win the one in front of you, and you don’t worry about anything else other than the one in front of you.”

It was also the best performance for Goff, who struggled with accuracy and turnovers at times through the first three games of the season. Campbell said he hopes it’s a performance to get Goff back on track.

“Yeah, you’re going to feel good about a performance like this,” Campbell said. “I don’t want to speak for Jared, but I would be willing to bet somewhere in there, he knew that he was going to have a good game. He just did, because he – I go back to – I felt like last week was his get back to balance, get back to center.”