Now that Jared Goff is locked down, here's how he stands in Detroit Lions history

Jared Goff’s four-year, $212 million extension signed this week gives the Detroit Lions quarterback security they haven’t had since … well, OK, since the last guy — Matthew Stafford — was in town.

Yes, the franchise once known for rotating quarterbacks faster than a meat roaster in a shawarma shop, will go through just two quarterbacks in approximately two decades, once Goff’s contract has run its course. Goff will account for eight seasons of that run, assuming he finishes out his deal; he’s only three seasons in, but at just age 30 next season, he seems likely to make it all the way in Honolulu blue.

Which means it’s time to examine where Goff stacks up in the Lions' regular-season record books … and whether he has a shot at dethroning Stafford in some key categories.

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Games: T-11th

Not much surprise here, as Goff has only been a Lion for three seasons, with 48 appearances out of a possible 51 (thanks to the 17-game schedule). But he’ll snap his tie with Charlie Batch (1998-2001) and Fred Enke (1948-51) with his start on Sept. 8 vs. the Rams and should — health allowing —leap up the board this season, passing a cornucopia of disappointment under center — Scott Mitchell (1994-98) at 57, Joey Harrington (2002-05) at 58, Bill Munson (1968-75) at 60 — and potentially tying Milt Plum (1962-67) at 65 this season. But what about catching Stafford, the king of the Pride (statistically, at least)? If Goff plays in every Lions game through the end of the 2028 season, he’ll be at 133 games — good for second in franchise history for a QB (ahead of Greg Landry and Eric Hipple, at 102 apiece), but 33 away from becoming No. 1.

Wins: T-6th

That Goff is already so high on the franchises career wins list is either an indictment of the franchise or a testament to his rapid success in Honolulu blue — or both? Whatever your view, Goff enters 2024 with 24 victories, tied with Munson, who needed eight seasons and 60 appearances to get to two dozen wins. Goff should easily reach fourth on the list, with only Mitchell (27) and Hipple (28) close by him (in five and 10 seasons, respectively). Goff is likely looking at moving into third next season, with Greg Landry (1968-78) at 40, and then the Big Two loom: Bobby Layne (1950-58) at 53 wins and, of course, Stafford at 74. Still, with five seasons of contract remaining, Goff needs just 10 wins each year to draw even with him at No. 1.

Attempts: Sixth

In case you needed a reminder of how the NFL has changed in just five decades or so, Goff has 1,686 attempts in his three seasons and needs just 62 — about two games worth — to pass Landry (1,747), who spent 11 seasons in Honolulu blue. Harrington (1,802) and Mitchell (1,850) are likely to be passed this season, too. After that, it’s … the Big Two, with Layne racking up 2,193 attempts and Stafford at 6,224. Can Goff catch Stafford? He’s on pace for 4,496 by the end of his new contract — almost a full Harrington away.

Completions: Second

Yes, Goff is ALREADY No. 2 in franchise history, having passed Layne (1,074) in the Lions’ NFC North-clinching victory over Minnesota on Dec. 24 — on a 6-yard toss to tight end Sam LaPorta to open the fourth quarter — then adding 46 more through the end of the regular season. Catching Stafford at No. 1 could take a while, as Goff needs 2,777 completions — about 7 ½ seasons at Goff’s current Detroit pace.

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Completion percentage: Second

Goff zips up to No. 1 in this stat if we put pretty much any kind of minimum-attempts limitation: his 66.5% — that’s 1,121 completions — is just behind legendary Lions backup Chase Daniel’s 67.4% in … 43 attempts (aka, 29 completions) over four appearances. Likewise, No. 3 is Goff’s backup during the 2021 season, Tim Boyle. The pride of Eastern Kentucky completed 61 of 94 pass attempts for a 64.9% percentage — 2.3 points better than a slightly more accomplished Lions QB: Stafford, who completed 3,898 passes for a 62.6% completion percentage.

Passing yards: Fifth

Goff passed for 4,575 yards — the third-best single-season total in franchise history — to finish 2023 with 12,258 yards as a Lion, zooming up from 14th while passing what seems like a laundry list of bad jersey-purchase decisions from the past two decades: Rodney Peete, Munson, Plum, Batch, Jon Kitna, Harrington, Hipple and Gary Danielson. Again, he’ll likely only need a couple games to leap over Landry (12,451) and Mitchell (12,647). Passing Layne, at 15,710, will likely come sometime during the 2025 season. After that though … we’re going to suggest Stafford’s 45,109 yards is probably safe for a while as a franchise record.

Passing TDs: Fifth

Last season’s 30 TDs — just the fourth 30-touchdown season in franchise history — landed Goff at 78 scores, moving him well up the leader board from 13th and right behind Mitchell (79) and Landry (80).Another 30-TD season would tie Goff with Layne (118) and leave only Stafford to chase down. Good luck: Even if Goff throws 40 TDs in each of the next five seasons, he’d still need five more TDs to pass Stafford’s 282 scores.

Interceptions: 19th

Despite his numbers in an admittedly passing-friendly offense — the Lions are 10th in pass attempts over the past three seasons combined — Goff has done well to avoid turnovers (aided by nine games without a pick to end the 2022 season) in his Lions tenure. His 27 interceptions thrown are equal to those of Jeff Komlo, who attempted just 429 passes from 1979-81 and one fewer than former Heisman Trophy runner-up Chuck Long in 602 attempts from 1986-91. Oh, and at the top? The Big Two, of course: Layne at 142 and Stafford at 144.

Interception percentage: Sixth

Again, Goff is this low only because of a few QBs with limited pass attempts — Greg Barton, Jack Concannon, Drew Henson and John Witkowski, with a combined 40 pass attempts — finished up their Lions tenure without throwing a pick. (By the way, of the 66 Lions QBs who have actually attempted a pass, those four are the only interception-free Lions.) Once we get to, ahem, more experienced quarterbacks, Goff’s 1.6% interception percentage is just behind the 1.4% by Dave Krieg (three interceptions in 212 attempts in 1994). Oh, and the Big Two? Stafford is right behind Goff, at 2.3%, and Layne … at 6.5%. Ouch.

Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on X (which used to be Twitter, y’know?) @theford.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Where Jared Goff ranks among Detroit Lions quarterbacks all-time