GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Detroit Lions committed the fewest turnovers in the NFL this season, and a big reason why was the play of quarterback Jared Goff.
Goff did not throw an interception in the final nine games of the regular season, and finished the year with a streak of 324 straight pass attempts without a pick.
That streak is the fifth-longest in NFL history, according to ESPN, and when Goff returns as the Lions starting quarterback next season he will have a chance to break Aaron Rodgers’ record (404) in September.
“It’s been great,” Goff said Sunday after the Lions beat the Packers, 20-16, in their season finale. “It’s been part of what I’ve tried to do every game and, yeah, I’ve been able to hold on to that for quite a while and some of it’s certainly luck and some of it is me doing a good job. I’ve been on the wrong side of a lot of those in my career, so it seems like it’s balancing out now and it’s been a good little streak going.”
Goff, who struggled with turnovers early in his NFL career — throwing a career-high 16 interceptions in 2019 — had ball security issues early this season that contributed to the Lions’ 1-6 start.
He committed nine turnovers in the season’s first six games, and was criticized publicly by his coaches for his lack of pocket awareness.
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Goff acknowledged at the time he needed to do a better job taking care of the ball, and over the final two months of the season he mostly did.
Goff threw his last interception came in the third quarter of the Lions’ Week 9 win over the Packers at Ford Field, when he threw a wobbler of a pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Goff had one interception the following week against the Chicago Bears that was nullified by penalty, and a few other throws that nearly ended in picks. But for the most part, he did a good job staying on rhythm in the offense, trusting his protection and not putting the ball in harm’s way.
The Lions had 15 turnovers on the season, one fewer than the New York Giants, and their plus-seven takeaway margin was tied for fourth-best in the NFL. Eight of the top 11 teams in turnover margin made the postseason this year.
Goff’s only turnover in the final nine weeks was a fumbled snap exchange with center Frank Ragnow in the Lions’ Week 16 loss to the Carolina Panthers, a turnover that Ragnow said was his fault.
Lions coach Dan Campbell praised Goff’s play down the stretch Sunday, when he called the quarterback “really a perfect fit for what we do and what we ask.”
“I think the true sign of a pro is somebody that can, they can take the coaching, he can look at himself in the mirror, he knows where he needs to improve, he listens to what recommendations you have for him to get better, and I mean he goes at it now,” Campbell said. “He doesn’t shy from it, he doesn’t get sensitive, he just, he just wants to be good. And that’s our quarterback. So that’s pretty good stuff.”
Shoulder-ing the load
Safety DeShon Elliott said Sunday he might require offseason surgery on the dislocated left shoulder he suffered last month against the New York Jets.
Elliott missed two games with the injury but returned for Sunday’s finale to play through what he described as “horrible” pain.
“I mean, I finished the season, but I didn’t finish the season healthy the way I wanted to,” Elliott said. “I know going into the offseason I probably need to get my shoulder checked out, maybe get an MRI and I might possibly have to get surgery, so we’ll find out. But to be able to go out here and finish the season the way I wanted to, on my terms, to be able to play this game with my brothers this last game of the season, that felt good for me, bro.”
Elliott made five tackles Sunday and finished with a career-high 95 on the season, second most of the team.
A 13-game starter for the Lions this season, Elliott will be a free agent in March. He said his interested in returning in a starting role to the Lions, but his future is uncertain given the makeup of the Lions’ young secondary.
Rookie Kerby Joseph, who had a team-high four interceptions this season, is expected to play a key role for the Lions next fall, and Tracy Walker could return by the start of the season if all goes well with his rehab from a torn Achilles tendon.
“We’re going to find out what happens,” Elliott said. “You can only control the things you can control.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.