Jared Goff looks to bounce back from throwing career-high 5 INTs when Lions host Jaguars
The Detroit Lions are off to their best start in seven decades thanks in part to the play of Jared Goff.
But the Lions got their most recent win despite Goff's gaffes.
Goff threw a career-high five interceptions, leading to a 16-point deficit that Detroit overcame to beat AFC South-leading Houston.
The veteran walked toward the middle of the field alongside coach Dan Campbell and had something to say after the improbable win.
"We're just different, that's really what he said," Campbell recalled. "And I agreed with him. We are. That's the way we're built."
The Lions became the first team since 1970 to win after trailing by at least 15 points and throwing five interceptions.
"There are a lot of good teams in our league, but you'd be hard-pressed to find some who have been through what the core group of this team has been through," Goff said.
Detroit (8-1) has won seven straight, is off to its best start since 1954 and is a win away from doing something the franchise hasn't done in nine decades.
If the NFC-leading Lions get past Jacksonville (2-8), they will have nine wins in their first 10 games for the first time since 1934.
The Jaguars ruled out Trevor Lawrence for a second consecutive game due to an injury to his left, non-throwing shoulder. Mac Jones is expected to fill in for him again, with the Jags hoping their No. 1 quarterback can return following next week's bye.
The Jags have lost 13 of 16 dating to last years season-ending slump, and owner Shad Khan might be tempted to fire coach Doug Pederson.
On the eve of training camp, Khan called this the most talented Jags team of his 12-year tenure. The results haven't matched expectations, with Jacksonville going 1-6 in one-score games with a defense that ranks last in the league and a 25th-ranked offense.
Pederson went 9-8 in each of his first two seasons in Jacksonville, which he led to an AFC South title and a playoff win two years ago.
A defeat in Detroit would guarantee that Pederson's third season ends with a losing record and that he will be dropped to .500 overall as an NFL coach.
He is 62-61-1 in the regular season and 5-3 in the playoffs, including a Super Bowl win with Philadelphia against New England on Feb. 4, 2018.
Detroit's offense was sluggish in its first two games as All-Pro receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was kept out of the end zone.
Since then, the Lions' offense has been one of the NFL's best and St. Brown has set a franchise record with a receiving touchdown in seven straight games.
Jacksonville has a combined 358 yards of offense in its last two outings, losses to Green Bay and Minnesota of the NFC North.
"We're going to ride together," tight end Evan Engram said. "We're going to die together. That's the motto I've been rolling with."
Za'Darius Smith is expected to play his first game with the Lions, nearly two weeks after the veteran defensive end was acquired from Cleveland.
The Lions gave Smith some time off last week, allowing him to travel to Florida to check on his home after it was hit by recent hurricanes and to give him a bye week of sorts that he would not have had otherwise.
The gesture went a long way.
"This team is one of a kind," Smith said. "Great culture. Great coaching staff. Great front office. They're all about winning."
Two years ago, Jake Bates was back selling bricks in Houston. Now, he's a two-time NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
Bates made a 52-yard field goal as time expired to beat his hometown Texans after connecting on a 58-yard, game-tying field goal earlier in the fourth quarter. He became the first in league history to make a tying field goal from 55-plus yards and a winning kick from at least 50 yards in a fourth quarter.
Bates, signed in June after impressive performances for the UFL's Michigan Panthers, is 14 of 14 on field goals. He made a 44-yard kick with 15 seconds left, lifting the Lions to a 31-29 victory at Minnesota last month.