Todd Gurley Has No Business Being Considered An MVP Candidate…But Jared Goff Does: Part II
If the Los Angeles Rams offense has one relative weak link, it’s pass blocking. They aren’t awful at it by any means, but it’s the one element of their offense that performs near a mere league average level. The Rams have allowed 25 sacks this season which falls in line with the league average of 25.3 sacks allowed across all 32 teams. So while they haven’t been bad, Goff hasn’t benefited nearly as much from the Rams offensive line as Todd Gurley has.
Now what Jared Goff has benefited from is operating under the direction of Sean McVay, who has already established himself as one of the greatest offensive minds the game has ever seen. Since arriving in Los Angeles, McVay has consistently schemed receivers open and given Goff easy decisions and easy throws as a result. So much so that even with all of the big numbers Goff has put up this season, there is still a contingent of football consumers that regard Goff as a “system quarterback.”
And while there’s absolutely no denying Goff benefits from having McVay on the sticks as much if not more than any other QB benefits from their play caller, Goff has totally transcended the label of “system quarterback” by making franchise quarterback level throws, game after game this season.
Pro Football Focus currently ranks Jared Goff 1st in the league with 29 big-time throws (throws that require elite ball placement and elite timing) and also ranks Goff 1st in the league in deep throw accuracy. It holds up when you look at his stats and it holds up when you watch him on the field: Jared Goff is excelling in areas of the game that only great quarterbacks excel in.
Goff has also consistently come up big in the team’s biggest games this year. On Thursday Night football against a Minnesota Vikings team that was considered by many as a Super Bowl favorite at the time, Jared Goff found himself in a shootout with Kirk Cousins and put together one of the greatest single performances in NFL history, throwing for 465 yards on 14.09 yards per attempt and 5 passing touchdowns, giving him a perfect passer rating of 158.3.
In the most highly anticipated NFC matchup of the year at New Orleans, the Rams were on the verge of exposing themselves as a team that may not be able to hang with the NFL’s best as they were down 17 to 35, but Goff put the team on his back and tied the game at 35 before Marcus Peters lost the game after being burnt for a 72 yard touchdown by Michael Thomas. Goff finished the game with nearly 391 passing yards on almost 10 yards per attempt along with 3 passing touchdowns.
And in the most highly anticipated matchup of the year against Kansas City, Goff went head to head with the MVP favorite in Patrick Mahomes and undoubtedly outperformed him. Goff finished with 413 yards passing and 5 total touchdowns and 0 interceptions; despite being hounded by the Chiefs pass rush to the tune of 5 sacks.
Goff has flourished well beyond the confines of his playbook and his supporting cast, and has stood tall against the league’s two leading MVP candidates. He’s having an incredible season and if there’s anyone on the Rams offense who deserves MVP consideration, it’s him.
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