Who is Jared Goff? What to know about the Detroit Lions quarterback
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff was a first round draft pick in 2016 out of the University of California.
Jared Goff led the Detroit Lions to a franchise-record 15 victories this season and earned himself some MVP votes in the process.
The NFL announced finalists for its season-end awards Thursday and Goff was one of five finalists for league MVP along with quarterbacks Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow and running back Saquon Barkley.
Jackson and Allen are favorites to win the award after garnering first- and second-team All-Pro, respectively. Jackson, a two-time NFL MVP, threw for career-highs of 4,172 yards and 41 touchdowns this season with four interceptions this season and ran for 915 yards, while Allen had 3,731 yards passing, 531 yards rushing and 40 total touchdowns.
Goff set career-highs with a 72.4% completion percentage and 37 touchdown passes and finished second in the league with 4,629 yards passing.
Barkley became the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards and Burrow led the league with 4,918 yards passing.
A group of 50 media members vote for MVP and the league’s other official awards by ranking the top five for each honor. Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett is one of the 50 voters. The votes are cast at the end of the regular season and do not include the playoffs.
The Lions’ lost their postseason opener to the Washington Commanders, 45-31, when Goff threw four interceptions.
Also, Lions coach Dan Campbell is one of five finalists for Coach of the Year and former Lions coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn are finalists for the league’s Assistant Coach of the Year awards.
Along with Campbell, the Minnesota Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell, the Denver Broncos’ Sean Payton, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Andy Reid and the Commanders’ Dan Quinn are finalists for Coach of the year.
Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio are the other finalists for Assistant Coach of the Year.
The MVP and other awards, including Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year, are announced Super Bowl week during the NFL Honors show, which is scheduled for Feb. 6 in New Orleans.
Dave Birkett is the author of the book, “Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline.” Order your copy here.
Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
