Late in the Detroit Lions loss to the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving, the Lions offense had a real chance. Down 31-21 with just under 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Lions offense faced 4th-and-3 from the Green Bay 21-yard line.
The play call was a designed rollout for QB Jared Goff to his right, with WR Jameson Williams crossing the field ahead of him. Goff had time and rifled the ball to an open Williams. The pass lacked touch and was a little low and behind the sprinting Williams, ultimately bouncing off both of the wideout’s hands and his hip.
It was a costly lost opportunity for the Lions. Coming up empty while on the precipice of the red zone and in desperate need of points, the missed connection was a big tipping point in the game.
After the game, Goff shouldered the blame for missing the throw. The quarterback addressed the misfire in his postgame press conference,
“I’ve got to connect with (Williams) Jamo there on the one down in the red zone. That’s – I’ve got to give him a better throw, and he makes the catch. He might score right there, and the drive might be over.”
Goff added, “That’s the one that will hurt me for a while.”
When asked about the fourth-down issues of late — the Lions are now 0-for-7 in the last three games when they go for it on fourth down — Goff again took the blame.
“You’ve just got to execute in those big moments. That’s really it,” Goff stated. “I wish there was some magic potion to take to be better on fourth down, but there’s not. I had Jamo open, he’s streaming across, I’ve got to hit him. That’s the bottom line. There’s no other way to fix it.”
This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Jared Goff takes blame for missed 4th down throw to Jameson Williams
Reporting by Jeff Risdon, Lions Wire / Lions Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
