Lions' Dan Campbell Backs Jared Goff Amid Criticism of QB, 'He's Going Nowhere'

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell threw his support behind quarterback Jared Goff on Tuesday despite the team disappointingly missing out on the playoffs this season.

During an appearance on 97.1 The Ticket's Costa & Jansen with Heather (h/t Nolan Bianchi of the Detroit News), Campbell said, "Jared Goff is a stud. ... He played at a very high level all season long ... even better than he played the year before. ... I'm thankful to have him, he's an absolute stud, he's a pro, he's going nowhere."

The 31-year-old Goff is nearing the conclusion of his fifth season in Detroit, and he has put up spectacular numbers once again.

Over 16 starts, Goff is completing 68.3 percent of his passing attempts for 4,233 yards, 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions. That production isn't far off from last season when Goff completed 72.4 percent of his passing attempts for 4,629 yards, 37 touchdowns and 12 picks en route to his fourth career Pro Bowl selection.

Goff arrived in Detroit in 2021 as part of the trade that sent quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams.

After going just 3-10-1 in his first season as Detroit's starter, Goff improved to 9-8 in 2022, 12-5 in 2023 and 15-2 last season.

The Lions reached the NFC Championship Game in 2023, and they established themselves as strong contenders to reach the Super Bowl for the first time last season.

However, despite securing the No. 1 seed in the NFC, they were upset at home by the Washington Commanders in the NFC Divisional Round.

There was hope for a bounce back this season, but the Lions are shockingly just 8-8 entering Week 18 after losing each of their past three games and four of their past five.

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Even with offensive coordinator Ben Johnson leaving to take the Chicago Bears' head coaching job, the Lions rank third in the NFL in scoring this season. The bigger culprit in Detroit's drop-off is the defense, as the Lions are 23rd in scoring defense, allowing 24.8 points per game.

While Goff wasn't perfect this season, he remained one of the most productive quarterbacks in the league.

Given that he is signed through 2028 after inking a four-year, $212 million contract extension last year, there is little doubt that Goff will be back in the fold next season.