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Usually when a headset breaks it leads to frustration, cursing and a mind-numbing afternoon stuck in the returns line at Best Buy. But in the case of Jared Goff, it led to a complete career resurgence with the Lions.
Dianna Russini and Michael Silver both had illuminating recent pieces in The Athletic about Jared Goff's stunning comeback story in Detroit.
One particular detail stands out (in my mind at least) after reading both articles — the quirky significance of a broken sideline headset communications sytem.
The Lions quarterback's incredible comeback story might seem like it started in 2022, when the Lions' first began the historic 32-9 run they're currently on. But it actually goes back to 2018, when Goff was still in good favor as QB of the Los Angeles Rams.
The main knock on Goff back then was that he was too dependent on Coach Sean McVay for his quarterback cues — he was often seen on camera getting cues by way of the in-helmet communications system from McVay before getting the snap.
Then, in the 2018 NFC Championship Game against the Saints, Goff's helmet speaker broke, so McVay giving him all the answers wasn't an option.
This, coupled with a notoriously loud Superdome crowd and an early 13-nothing hole to dig the Rams out of, made it look like Goff was cooked. But Goff smoothly led the Rams to a come-from-behind, 26-23 overtime victory.
And Dan Campbell had a front-row seat to the Goff show as the Saints' tight ends coach at the time. Seeing Goff come through on his own under playoff pressure made Campbell a believer in Goff.
So a couple years later, when most people saw the Matthew Stafford for Jared Goff trade as a win for the Rams, and the beginning of the end of Goff's career, Campbell and his Lion GM Brad Holmes saw something else entirely.
Holmes called the idea that Goff was merely a stopgap quarterback for the Lions a “lazy narrative”.
“Everybody created that monster and that was never the case with us,” Holmes added.
Campbell started re-instilling confidence and belief in Goff, and Goff started believing in himself and getting more and more comfortable in the offense, especially when the Lions promoted Ben Johnson to offensive coordinator in 2022.
The Lions still show video of Goff from the 2018 “broken helmet speaker” game to their staff as a prime example of resiliency and mental toughness. The Lions' faith in Jared Goff is paying major dividends now, and he's become a beloved fan-favorite in the city of Detroit. So during this holiday shopping season as you purchase new (and occasionally faulty) electronic devices, here's hoping that if you do end up with a broken headset, maybe it's actually just a sign of good things to come like it was for Goff.
