There isn't much that hasn't been said about Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff since he has come to the Motor City and helped a long struggling franchise start to play winning football again.
Goff has been the catalyst for the Lions in the pocket. His calm leadership and belief has translated Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes' vision for their team on the field. But none of that would be possible without toughness.
In 2021, Detroit's offenive line wasn't the unit it has become recently. In spite of that, Goff stayed upright. Since, there's been periodic injuries to key players up front. It hasn't mattered, as Goff has remained a constant in the pocket. Not even young players taking over up front in 2025 has been enough to faze Goff.
Taylor Decker thinks he knows why, and it all boils down to aforementioned toughness. When talking about his quarterback, Decker dropped wisdom on why Goff is such a great leader. According to him, it's traits that mirror fictional hitman John Wick, a regular guy until he's pushed to the brink.
"People don't talk enough about Jared (Goff) being tough. I was thinking about this the other day. He's got John Wick to him where he's super nice, but 'Oh, you shot my dog?' Then he goes out there and he's the ultimate competitor. If you didn't shoot his dog, you wouldn't know how tough he is. You can't say enough good things about him."
As Decker knows, it's more than just physical traits that define his quarterback. Goff is the whole package in the pocket, which helps him to excel every step of the way.
"We got a superstar quarterback who can do everything, make every throw, knows the whole playbook, knows the defenses, prepares incredibly. He's not afraid to take a hit. We don't want him to get hit, but if he has to, he's not afraid. He doesn't take big hits though that much."
If Goff does take a hit, chances are he can absorb it thanks to his toughness. As Decker understands, that will be something that continues to work wonders for him through this season and beyond.
Decker frustrated to be battling through injury issue early this season
While Goff has found a way to avoid hits this season and by default injuries, the same cannot be said for teammates. The Lions defense is now down superstar cornerback D.J. Reed in addition to Marcus Davenport, and the team has been lucky to avoid a more significant injury bug early on.
Decker himself is battling injury this season, and while it hasn't been enough to keep him off the field, it has impacted his game. As he explained, while he believes he has played well to lead a resurgent offensive line, he could be playing even better without injury.
"I do think I'm playing well, but the frustrating thing for me is, I think I could play better if I felt better. So that's the thing. I think the performances have been pretty good, but the frustrating thing is, I have my own personal standards. When you're not at 100%, it's hard to meet those (standards). But that's why you go out there and you do what you do best you can for the team. I feel like if I'm out there, I can give them a chance to win."
Detroit's offensive line has played a leading effort in the team's 3-1 start, but as Decker's commentary shows, there is always room for constructive criticism. He doesn't believe that he is doing as well as he can thanks to his body being beaten up early this season.
In spite of that, at least Decker knows he can depend on having John Wick in the pocket behind him. If that isn't reason to be comfortable, not much else is.
