Done with the East, LA Rams Jared Goff saddles up for the West

Quarterback Jared Goff and the LA Rams are ready for the NFC West

After three east coast trips in four weeks, Jared Goff and the LA Rams are on the road once again for week six, but it’s only a short trip up the coast to face the San Francisco 49ers. Nobody expected the Rams to be the better team in this meeting. In fact, many predicted the Rams to plunge to the basement of the NFC West.

The banged-up 49ers, a preseason favorite to win the division, come into the contest with a 2-3 record. The Los Angeles Rams, who are 4-1, can credit their early success to the efficiency of their quarterback Jared Goff, not his spike attempt. They are looking to regain the NFC West title, which would be their third in four years.

Revenge Tour

The LA Rams finished third in the division last year with an 0-2 record against the eventual champions, the 49ers. In the first, very forgettable game Goff was sacked four times and threw for a career-low 78 yards. He also fumbled twice contributing to the 7-20 loss.

In the second game when the playoff hopes were on the line, Goff complete 27 of 46 passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns. But his pick-six before halftime proved costly in the 31-34 loss to the 49ers. That loss was a heartbreaker, as it practically eliminated the LA Rams from the playoffs.

New Year, New Goff

Coincidently the LA Rams squared off with the 49ers in a Week 6 matchup, but Goff has been a completely different quarterback entering each of the games.

Goff’s 2019 Season:

• 140/222 with a 63% completion percentage
• 1,649 Passing Yards
• 7 Passing Touchdowns
• 7 Interceptions
• 4 Fumbles, 3 Lost
• 1 Rushing Touchdown

Goff’s 2020 Season:

• 109/152 with a 71.7% completion percentage
• 1,372 Passing Yards
• 8 Passing Touchdowns
• 3 Interceptions
• 1 Fumble, 0 Lost
• 2 Rushing Touchdowns

Alright, so maybe you are thinking it was just the competition level and his stats between the two seasons don’t directly translate to team success. Well, let’s look at other important indicators that Goff has contributed to.

LA Rams in 2019:

• Record: 3-2(L2)
• First Downs: 84 Passing, 1 Rushing
• Team 3rd Down Conversion: 41.5%
• Average Time of Possession: 28 Minutes
• Opening Drive: 2 Field Goals

LA Rams in2020:

• Record: 4-1(W2)
• First Downs: 63 Passing, 5 Rushing
• Team 3rd Down Conversion: 49.3%
• Average Time of Possession: 32 Minutes
• Opening Drive: 4 Touchdowns

Trending up to Sunday Night

This is a new season, and Jared Goff is a much more mature quarterback.  A year ago, he became indecisive when defenses focused upon him to knock him off his game. Defenses used A-gap blitzes, stunts off the edges, and simply overwhelmed the offensive line in an effort to force Goff to make snap decisions.  Those decisions were frequently poorly made, resulting in Goff throwing a career high interceptions of 16.

After those two losses last season and from what we have seen thus far from Jared Goff, I expect him to lead the LA Rams offense in dominant fashion over the injury-riddled 49ers, helping further elevate his name among the top quarterbacks in the NFL.