Jared Goff was on the verge of changing his name to ‘Jared Goof’ against the Texans on ‘Sunday Night Football,’ until he wasn’t.
In typical Lions fashion, the team staged an improbable comeback in a wildly entertaining Week 10 contest in Houston. While Goff was definitely part of the problem, he made sure to be part of the solution. The team erased a 16-point halftime deficit, shutting out the Texans in the second half to win 26-23 and improve to 8-1 on the season.
Goff tossed three first half interceptions, adding two in the final 30 minutes, with a few more close calls along the way. Still, the resilient Goff managed to lead his team to victory when it mattered most. It was an uneven performance that won’t win any awards anytime soon, but the quarterback also won’t be forgetting it anytime soon.
Detroit became the first team since the 1970 Colts to win after erasing a deficit of at least 15 points while throwing five or more interceptions. History doesn’t stop there, however. While Goff probably won’t appreciate throwing a personal record of five interceptions in a single game, he did become the first quarterback to win with that many INTs since Matt Ryan led the Falcons to a 23-19 win over the Cardinals on Nov. 18, 2012.
Here’s a breakdown of Goff’s historic day.
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Jared Goff stats vs. Texans
Here’s a look at Goff’s stats from the Lions’ wild 26-23 comeback victory over the Texans:
Completions/Attempts (%): 15/30 (50.0%)
Passing yards: 240
Passing TDs: 2
Interceptions: 5
Passer rating: 59.7
While Goff has played some clunkers over his career, his performance against the Texans was more of the exception than the rule since he arrived in Detroit. With three first half interceptions, Goff’s stats drew a sharp contrast for a player that had been on a roll as of late.
Completing just 50 percent of his passes, the Lions’ signal caller put forth his worst game of the season by far. Over the last six games, he completed at least 70 percent of passes in each of them, including the game in which he didn’t throw an incompletion against the Seahawks on Sept. 30.
Despite Goff setting a career-high for the most interceptions he’s thrown in a game, that still wasn’t enough to send the Lions home without a victory. When it mattered most, Detroit’s quarterback marched the team into field goal range, setting up kicker Jake Bates with an opportunity to win the game.
Bates would knock through the field goal, improving the Lions’ record to 8-1 and successfully changing the narrative on Goff’s evening. Instead of questions being posed about a sudden turnover problem following a wonky performance, it’s a story of triumph and resilience for a team that just doesn’t quit.
As the saying goes, winning fixes everything.
Jared Goff’s most interceptions in a game
Goff set a career-high for most interceptions in a game against the Texans on Nov. 10, 2024. He tossed five interceptions to the Houston defense and flirted with a few more throughout the game, but surpassed his previous high of four that was set on Dec. 9, 2018 as a member of the Rams.
NFL record for most interceptions in a game
The record for the most interceptions thrown in a game belongs to Jim Hardy. The Chicago Cardinals quarterback managed to throw eight of them to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 24, 1950. Hardy’s team would go on to lose the game 45-7 as Hardy completed just 12 passes in the Week 1 opener. As the story goes, the Chicago Cardinals would later leave for St. Louis before eventually landing in Arizona as the franchise we know today.
As for the most interceptions thrown in a game during the 21st century, that honor belongs to Ty Detmer, who finished with seven for the Detroit Lions against the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 23, 2001.