You know the real reason why the Detroit Lions lost to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night? It wasn’t that the offensive line played one of its worst games of the Dan Campbell era. It wasn’t because Jameson Williams’ penalty “cost the Lions an extra point because it was windy out,” either.

It wasn’t even because Lions receivers chose Sunday of all days to just stop catching balls in their area or in their hands.

It was none of that, according to Lions fans. The real culprit is the gloves Jared Goff was wearing. It was always the gloves. Really, this is what I kept getting comments on Sunday night. So, I did the insane thing and found every game ever in which Goff wore gloves. Let’s talk about it.

Goff’s glove games at Cal 

Let’s go back to Goff’s freshman year at Cal, when the team played in Colorado in November. Goff threw for 173 yards and an interception. He completed 51.1% of his passes. There’s one more also from his freshman year.

Cal played in Washington a couple of weeks earlier, and he threw for 336 yards and a touchdown. But he completed just 59.3% of his passes. 

Goff’s glove games with Rams

Goff wore gloves in the divisional round of the 2020 playoffs against the Packers. He was sharp in this game, even though he didn’t produce much. He threw for 174 yards and a touchdown. He completed 77.4% of his passes and had no turnovers. 

Now, we go all the way back to 2016. Goff had a bad day against the Patriots. He threw for 161 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and had a fumble. He completed a then-career-low 43.7% of his passes. A bad day for the then-rookie. 

Goff’s glove games with Lions 

He wore them against the Packers in Week 18 of the 2022 season. That game wasn’t too bad. He threw for 224 yards, zero touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He completed 67.5% of his passes and was noticeably not very good in the first half. He did play pretty well in the second half, though.

Two weeks earlier, he wore them against the Panthers and threw for 355 yards and three touchdowns. No interceptions in that one, but he did fumble once. He completed 59.5% of his passes. 

Against the Bears in Week 14 of the 2023 season, he threw for just 161 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. He also fumbled once. He completed a season low 57.1% of his passes. In 2024, he wore them again in Chicago in December, throwing for 221 yards, two touchdowns, and no picks. He completed 71.9% of his passes in that game.

Goff also had the gloves on in Lambeau in 2024, and he threw for 145 yards and a touchdown with no picks. He completed 81.8% of his passes in that win.

Then on Sunday, he had a bad day, throwing for 255 yards, one touchdown, and an interception that really wasn’t his fault. He completed a career-low 37.8% of his passes, but again he was pressured on every throw and had essentially no time to do anything. The gloves had nothing to do with this.

So, that’s it. We’re talking about 11 games over 13 years, and he threw for 2,205 yards, 11 touchdowns, and six interceptions, completing 60.7% of his passes. Is it perfect? No. But is it proof that the gloves are evil and the reason why the Lions lost? Absolutely not. Let’s move on from this.

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