BEREA — Jared Goff’s been living the gilded life for the Detroit Lions the last two weeks.
The quarterback has gone two consecutive games without being sacked. Not only that, but Goff’s managed to only be hit five combined times in those two games as well.
It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that both Goff and the Lions have excelled in those two games: a 52-21 win in Week 2 over the Chicago Bears and 38-30 win in Week 3 over the Baltimore Ravens. The 10th-year pro completed at least 71.4% of his passes, including 82.1% against the Bears, and posted passer ratings of 103.6 or higher — a 156.0 against Chicago — in both games.
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The Lions have been breaking in a somewhat new offensive line this season, with two new starters at guard in second-year pro Christian Mahogany on the left side and rookie Tate Ratledge on the right. Graham Glasgow was at guard a year ago, but shifted back to center after Frank Ragnow retired last offseason.
So Goff couldn’t help but appreciate the quickness with which the new-look line came together.
“Yeah, they really did,” Goff told Detroit reporters Sept. 24. “And that’s two weeks in a row now they’ve done that. And another tall test for them this week, and I’m excited to see them come out and do it again.”
That tall test comes from the Browns and a defense that has been as good as any in the NFL over the first three weeks. The signature performance came in Week 3, when they were the catalysts for their first win of the season, a 13-10 victory over the same Green Bay Packers team that handed Detroit its only loss in Week 1.
Cleveland sacked Packers quarterback Jordan Love five times and pressured him 15 times total. Six different players had at least a half of a sack in the game, with defensive tackle Maliek Collins leading the way with 1.5 sacks.
That pressure, coupled with the Browns secondary allowing just one completion on a pass traveling at least 10 yards in the air, is what allowed them to hold Green Bay to a season-low 149 passing yards and 230 total yards. It’s also why Goff struggled to narrow down his reasons for what makes that defense so good.
“Geez, one thing? I don’t know,” Goff said. “They’re sound, they play hard, they rush hard. Obviously [Browns defensive] Myles [Garrett] is a big part of that. They’re good in the backend too, they’re really good in the backend. They’re good at every spot, and that’s what these good defenses typically are. And they’re no different.”
Garrett has played at seemingly a different level this season. His four sacks are tied for second in the NFL, and his seven tackles for loss lead the league.
The 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and four-time All-Pro is the known quantity. The secret to any significant success the Browns will have in Detroit is what they can do on the interior against the Lions’ new front.
That’s where the pressure came from against Green Bay, with defensive tackles Mason Graham and Collins each tying Garrett with a team-high four pressures each. Graham and Collins also combined on a sack of Love, and Collins’ other sack was aided by pressure applied by Graham.
“Yeah, well, certainly you can’t slide to both of them,” Goff said of the Browns’ inside-outside pressure threats. “So, they’ll line up opposite each other and it leaves somebody one-on-one, and it’s our guys’ job to go win those one-on-ones. And those guys are good players, but we’ve got good players, too.”
Graham’s emergence against Green Bay couldn’t time up better. The No. 5 overall pick in April’s draft is going back to Michigan for to play for the first time since his final game at the University of Michigan last season.
The half sack he recorded with Collins was his first, although he acknowledged after the game he still wanted his “first full one.” He’s had six total pressures in three games, which is fourth behind Garrett (14), defensive end Isaiah McGuire (11) and Collins (10).
“Yeah, he’s a good player, too,” Goff said. “Yeah, he’s a really good player. Gets off the ball fast, he’s athletic, he can do everything, he’s kind of a perfect three-technique and tough guy to block. I won’t be blocking him, but our guys will.”
Ratledge figures to be the one primarily lined up against Graham, marking a battle of rookies. The two never met in college, as Graham wasn’t at Michigan when Ratledge’s Georgia team beat the Wolverines in the College Football Playoff semifinal in 2021.
The Lions selected Ratledge in the second round of April’s draft. He’s allowed one sack and five combined pressures so far this season, but only two total pressures in the last two weeks combined.
“Yeah, it’s been great,” Goff said of Ratledge’s progress. “And it’s just reps, it really is. For any of these young guys, it’s just more reps he gets, the better he’s going to be. And I think he’s played great.”
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Lions QB Jared Goff counting on new-look line to keep him clean from Browns’ pass rush
Reporting by Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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