Allen Park — Turnovers have always been an issue for Jared Goff.
The Detroit Lions quarterback is responsible for nine giveaways through six games and now has 25 in his first 20 starts with the franchise. But even if you include his five seasons with Los Angeles Rams — which include a pair of Pro Bowl campaigns — he’s averaged more than one turnover per game during his career.
This season, he ranks third in the category, behind only former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and the recently benched Matt Ryan. With Detroit’s margin of error razor-thin most weeks, calming down the quarterback miscues is understandably a point of emphasis for the Lions.
“I think we’ve got to refocus him on awareness in the pocket a little bit,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “Just continue to hammer it home. And it’s not just him. There are quarterbacks that will begin to drift a little bit where they feel certain things. You start moving, and you don’t realize you may be moving deeper than you need to or you’re moving into something else. We just have to continue to stress it, coach it, show it because he understands. He responds to it. He sees it. He knows it.”
Goff is definitely aware of it. Maintaining the proper depth in the pocket is a lesson he learned early in his career and a fundamental that merits constant focus.
“I think about when I was back in L.A., and those (offensive) tackles are constantly talking to you like, ‘Hey man, once you get past that spot, you’re on your own,'” Goff said. “I think as you get older, you’re like, ‘OK, I’ll be on my own and see how it goes.’ And no, that’s not the right mentality to have. “(I’ve got to) move up in the pocket and do my job, and again, I don’t see it as something that I’ll continue to do.”
Goff is coming off a particularly brutal performance that included four second-half turnovers in a 24-6 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. He’s owned his miscues and the role they played in that loss, as accountability has never been an issue for the QB. When the Lions lost a 48-45 shootout to Seattle earlier this season, he again put the blame on himself for not doing more to outscore the opponent, even if that seems ridiculous on the surface. Of course, he did have an interception returned for a touchdown to start the second half in that one.
Given that accountability, it’s hardly a surprise to hear he willingly shoulders the blame for the team’s 1-5 start, even if there’s been a myriad of reasons the team has consistently come up short.
“All of it,” Goff said, when asked how much responsibility he feels for the team’s record. “Yeah, you always do. I think I can only control what I can control, and I have to focus on that, but at the same time, it’s my job to win games and to lead our team to wins and lead our offense to points.
“In some cases, we led our offense to points but not wins, and it’s not enough. And I’ve been on teams where it’s been both ways, where it’s high-scoring affairs at all times, and you have to score more than the other team, and I’ve been on teams where it’s control the ball and win by three points, and so whatever it may be, do your job, and get the ‘W’ is most important.”
Thrifty like a Fox
Despite being one of the NFL’s best punters since winning the Lions’ job in 2020, but because he was a combination of undrafted and unproven, Jack Fox got locked into earning veteran minimum his first three years in the league.
Not that he was complaining. A minimum salary in the NFL is several hundred thousand dollars, north of what most Americans earn at their 9-to-5.
“I’ve always felt really fortunate to be in the league and play,” Fox said. “I didn’t get drafted, it took me a little to get in, so I’ve always felt really fortunate to be here. I’ve never really worried about not getting paid enough. We get paid a lot of money as is.”
But Fox recently cashed in on his success, signing a three-year extension with the Lions worth more than $11 million with $7.5 million guaranteed and a $1.75 million signing bonus. That’s quite a windfall, but the punter has no immediate plans to splurge on anything for himself, especially not a car.
“Nah, I drive the same car I drove in college, and I don’t plan on getting a new car soon,” Fox said.
About the only thing Fox could think about buying is a replacement key for the Toyota 4Runner.
“My car key actually broke, so I need to buy a new car key,” Fox said. “I don’t know how much those cost. Couple hundred bucks, maybe. But off the top of my head, that’s what I need.”
Wanting to get a look
Answering a question about the status of the team’s rebuild, Campbell continued to be optimistic about the team’s progress, despite the 1-5 record.
The coach noted the continued importance of roster evaluation through the remainder of the season and highlighted two players who haven’t seen the field this year that he’s hoping to get a closer look at some point in the near future — running back Jermar Jefferson and linebacker James Houston.
“I mean, I’d love to find a way to get Houston up at some point, Jefferson up,” Campbell said. “We’re looking for guys that, man, want to play football. They’re hungry and can help us win, so we’re just going to keep working through this.”
Jefferson, a seventh-round last pick a year ago, appeared in seven games as a rookie, carrying the ball 15 times for 74 yards (4.9 YPC) and two touchdowns. He initially made the team’s roster out of training camp, but was cut before the opener, prior to being re-signed to the team’s practice squad.
Houston, a sixth-round selection out of Jackson State in April, played 72 snaps in the preseason, recording two tackles and a quarterback pressure. As a senior last season, he earned first-team all-conference honors, tallying 24.5 tackles for loss, 16.5 sacks and seven forced fumbles.
Injury report
Sticking with a season-long theme, the Lions had a lengthy injury report on the first day of preparation for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins.
Nine players didn’t practice Wednesday. That group consisted of safety DeShon Elliott (finger), defensive end Charles Harris (groin), tight end T.J. Hockenson (knee), cornerback Mike Hughes (knee), safety Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle), guard Jonah Jackson (neck), cornerback Chase Lucas (ankle), offensive tackle Matt Nelson (calf) and wide receiver Josh Reynolds.
Additionally, offensive tackle Taylor Decker (neck), center Frank Ragnow (foot) and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (concussion protocol) were limited.
In positive news, D’Andre Swift was a full participant, days after missing his third consecutive game because of shoulder and ankle injuries. That puts the dual-threat running back on track to return Sunday.
Cornerback Will Harris, who missed last weekend’s game against Dallas with a hip injury, was also a full participant.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers