Heading into the season, the talk surrounding Jared Goff was whether he could earn a contract extension from the Detroit Lions.
Now, there’s talk about whether Goff can earn the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award.
The Lions hold a 2 1/2-game lead in the NFC North entering their road game against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. Goff has led the way for Detroit (5-1), tossing 11 touchdown passes and rushing for two more scores while controlling the league’s fourth-highest scoring offense.
“I don’t know what MVP (criteria) is or isn’t these days, but I know this — he’s playing at a very high level,” Detroit coach Dan Campbell said. “He’s making the throws that are there. He’s seeing the field and he’s exactly what we need. He’s doing exactly what we’re asking him to do.”
The Lions have won four games in a row, all by double-digit margins.
“They haven’t even been in a close game since early in the season,” Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. “They’re tough, they’re physical, they’re legit.”
Goff has been especially effective the past two weeks.
He threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in a 42-24 victory over the Carolina Panthers, then threw for a season-high 353 yards two more touchdowns on 30-of-44 passing in a 20-6 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was selected the NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
“Our line’s protecting the heck out of him,” Campbell said. “You give him just a minute, he can see it, he can throw it, and our receivers are making plays.”
Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown returned against the Buccaneers after missing the previous week with an abdominal injury. He caught 12 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. Jameson Williams gathered in a 45-yard bomb from Goff for the other touchdown.
Detroit may have to rely on its passing game again at Baltimore. Top running back David Montgomery departed in the first half last week with a rib injury and is expected to miss some time, according to Campbell. Rookie Jahmyr Gibbs sat out the past two games with a hamstring strain.
Gibbs was able to get in a limited practice on Wednesday, but Montgomery and backup Craig Reynolds (hamstring, toe) didn’t participate.
Baltimore (4-2) leads the AFC North due to a stout defense that has allowed 260.8 yards per game, the second-fewest in the league. The Ravens rank fourth in the league in points allowed at 15.2 per game, and they have recorded 24 sacks, tying them for the league lead with the Buffalo Bills.
Lamar Jackson, the 2019 MVP, has thrown for five touchdowns and rushed for four. He had 223 passing yards and 62 rushing yards in the Ravens’ 24-16 win over the Tennessee Titans last week in London.
Rookie first-rounder Zay Flowers leads the receiving corps with 35 catches, and he scored his first touchdown against the Titans.
Jackson expects more from the offense.
“I believe we’ve been inconsistent, up and down,” he said. “We’ve been showing glimpses of what we could be and we’ve been showing what we’ve been doing. It’s like, ‘Where did the offense (go)?'”
Harbaugh expressed similar feelings about the offense.
“It’s just a product of a work in progress,” he said. “We’re in the process of trying to build this thing out, chasing all the details of all the different things to get the execution we want consistently.”
Baltimore defensive backs Kevon Seymour (ankle) and Marcus Williams (hamstring) and defensive end Brent Urban (neck) did not participate in practice on Wednesday.