Why 2 ESPN analysts believe this Detroit Lions player is MVP frontrunner

DETROIT – Two ESPN analysts said a Detroit Lions player should be the frontrunner for the National Football League’s Most Valuable Player award.

During a segment on the sports debate show First Take on Tuesday (Oct. 22), Stephen A. Smith and Super Bowl champion Jeff Saturday said that if the season ended at the eight-game mark, they would choose Lions quarterback Jared Goff to win the NFL Most Valuable Player award.

Hall of Fame tight end and three-time Super Bowl champion Shannon Sharpe said he would take Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (2019, 2023) to go back-to-back and get his third MVP award in his illustrious career.

Currently, Jackson (15 touchdowns and two interceptions) is +275, according to ESPN Bet.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (six touchdowns and eight interceptions) is second, and Goff (10 touchdowns to four interceptions) is third.

“If you look at his numbers, he’s (Jackson) got 16 touchdown passes and two interceptions,” said Sharpe. “Last season alone, he only had 24 touchdowns passing. He has 15 in seven games. During his unanimous MVP season in 2019, he had 36 touchdowns and six interceptions.”

Those numbers sound good at the moment, but his backfield running mate Derrick Henry may chew into his votes for the prestigious award as he’s been on a literal run so far.

Henry leads the NFL in rushing yards with 873 on 134 carries with eight touchdowns in just seven games.

On Monday Night Football, Jackson completed 17-22 passes for 281 yards and five touchdowns, with a passer rating of 158.1.

“That duo of him and Derrick Henry,” Sharpe said. “I do believe that Henry is going to swipe so of those MVP votes because the way he’s running the air out of the football; it’s like every single game, he has a 30, a 40, a 50, or an 80-yard touchdown run and he’s doing it week in and week out. But Lamar Jackson absolutely deserves to be the MVP frontrunner because of how well he’s playing. In the last five games, his offense has gone into another space. And so, yeah, there’s no question in my mind. Yes, Jared Goff deserves some consideration, but right now, if the season ended today, Lamar Jackson would be the MVP.”

The Ravens started the season 0-2 and have since won five games, including victories over the Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Washington Commanders, Buccaneers, and Dallas Cowboys.

But Goff has been in his bag in the NFC. The recently turned 30-year-old quarterback just took his Lions into Minnesota and gave the Vikings their first loss of the season.

The Lions were down 31-28 when Goff led the Lions on an eight-play 44-yard drive in two minutes and 17 seconds to set up a Jake Bates game-winning field goal, leaving the Viking with only 15 seconds to spare.

That comeback victory was Goff’s 20th when trailing in the fourth quarter or overtime in his career.

Sunday’s performance prompted Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback and Pittsburgh Steelers five-time Super Bowl winner Terry Bradshaw to compare him to Tom Brady.

“You know, you look at a coach, and you look at the quarterback and their relationship, when you have a coach like (Dan) Campbell, and you have a quarterback like Goff, the first thing I think about, the first thing that came to my mind actually was when they got the ball back to go down and kick the game-winning field goal was that, ‘This guy reminds me of a little bit of our guy Tom Brady.’ You just know the Lions are going to go down, and they’re going to score, and I remember standing on the sidelines down in Houston when Tom led (The New England Patriots), and I said, ‘Never worry, this ball is in the best hands it can possibly be in Tom Brady.’ When you can trust a guy who is consistently brought your team from behind in the fourth quarter, especially, man that’s rarified air right there.”

Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw

The Brady comparison was nothing to besmirch as Goff joined the former Michigan Wolverines legend as the only player in league history to have a completion percentage of 72% while throwing two touchdowns and to post a passer rating of 110% in four straight games in a single season.

In sed four-game span, Goff became the only player to complete 80% of his passes while also posting a passer rating of 140. Goff also posted at least two touchdown passes, a 72% completion rate, and a 110 passer rating.

Goff finished the day completing 22-25 passes for 280 yards, two touchdowns with a 140 rating and an 87.5 QBR.

He posted a passer rating of 140 in three straight games, joining Super Bowl champions Aaron Rodgers (2011), Kurt Warner (1999), and Roger Staubach (1971) as the fourth player in NFL history to do so.

“Baltimore did start the season 0-2, and they’ve won five straight, but the Detroit Lions only have one loss on the season as they’re 5-1,” said Smith. “Jared Goff, over the last three games, had a passer rating of 140 or better. He’s completed 58 of 68 passes for 887 yards, seven touchdown passes, one receiving touchdown, zero turnovers in those last three games as well. When you see what Detroit is doing, when you see how Goff is leading the way by completing 73% of his passes on the season. the only loss they have came against the Buccaneers in week two. Since then, they’ve won about four straight themselves. I’m looking at Jared Goff right now, the way that he looks combined with the way that they’re playing; right now, to me, he looks like an MVP. I would put him ahead of Lamar Jackson at this particular junction.”

Men lie, women lie, but numbers don’t, as Goff has led his team to the best record not only in the NFC North but in the National League as a whole, while Jackson and Henry’s Ravens are behind Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs who just dismantled the San Francisco 49ers in a Super Bowl rematch to improve to 6-0.

“When you think about what Jared Goff has been able to do the last three games, it hasn’t just been the numbers, as its been the way in which he’s did it,” said Saturday. “The thing about Lamar last night was they were down 10, and there was no panic in him. He got sacked a few times on that first drive. Next thing you know they comeback and beat the brakes off of Tampa Bay. Jared Goff continues to do that week in and week out. Last week, you saw the control he had during that last drive they had in particular, ball control as he rolled the clock all the way down and the final kick is going to win the game. All of those small details for me puts Jared Goff in that frontrunner spot for the MVP.”

Goff is averaging a league-high 11.6 yards under pressure against Minnesota, who has one of the elite defenses this season.

Against that stout defense, Goff completed 10-11 for 164 yards while under pressure against the second undefeated team in the league at that time on the road in a divisional matchup.

If those stats don’t tickle your fancy, Goff scored more touchdowns (18) than incompletions (15) this season.

Not to mention, in his last 10 quarters, Goff has completed 48-55 for 763 passing yards, seven touchdowns, zero interceptions, and has amassed a 155.1 passer rating.

Through seven games, Goff is first in passer rating (125.7), yards per attempt (11.6), completion percentage (71.6), completion percentage over expected (+9.6), and second in the NFL in Passing yards with 603.

Wide receiver Jameson Williams faces a two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substances (PES) policy.

Goff will be without his speedster, who is second on the team in receiving yards 361 and touchdowns with three, but he will look to keep his name in the MVP with guys like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, and Tim Patrick as they’ll play host to the Tennesee Titans Sunday inside Ford Field at 1 p.m.