The Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings entered Sunday night’s Most Important Game of the Season (Probably) with castoff quarterbacks, and if you have forgotten that about Jared Goff, that’s kind of the point. Goff has played so well in Detroit, and the Lions have won so much, that you can call him a franchise quarterback without getting much pushback. Goff’s Lions are 15–2 and the No. 1 seed in the NFC after their 31–9 defeat of the Vikings, and the game revealed a lot more than a single regular-season game usually does.
Goff looks ready to answer some fundamental questions. Sam Darnold does not.
