Jared Goff stood on the sideline in the fourth quarter, wearing a baseball cap, while his teammates wrapped up another easy win.
Goff threw two of his four touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown, and David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for three rushing touchdowns as the Detroit Lions crushed the Jacksonville Jaguars 52-6 on Sunday.
Just like he did in Detroit’s big wins over Tennessee (52-14) and Dallas (47-9) last month, Goff watched as Hendon Hooker took snaps in the final quarter to get some playing experience.
“Normally, this doesn’t happen,” said Lions coach Dan Campbell after pulling most of his starters in the final quarter. “It’s a good problem to have.”
The NFC-leading Lions (9-1) have now won eight straight games and are off to their best start since 1934, winning nine of their first 10 games.
Detroit’s 46-point victory margin was the largest in franchise history and handed Jacksonville its worst loss ever. The Lions also set a new team record for total yards, finishing with 645, the third-most in the NFL in the past 20 years.
They allowed just 170 yards to the Jaguars, marking a 475-yard difference, which ranks as the third-largest in NFL history.
“We felt like we could call anything,” Goff said.
The Lions, 1969 Minnesota Vikings, and 1973 Atlanta Falcons are the only three teams in Super Bowl history to win three of their first 10 games by 35 or more points.
“It’s quite the luxury to have in the NFL to take players out — ever,” Goff said.
The Jaguars (2-9) have now lost four straight games for the second time this season and 14 of their last 17 games, a rough stretch that could put coach Doug Pederson’s job in jeopardy.
“There’s nothing I can do to control that,” Pederson said. “I’ve been around this game for a long time, and whatever happens, happens.”
Jaguars rookie Cam Little made a career-long 59-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive and added another field goal to close the first half. But in between those kicks, the Lions scored four touchdowns to take a commanding 28-3 lead, and they kept the pressure on after halftime.
“We wanted to stay on the gas no matter what happened,” Campbell said.
Montgomery kicked off the scoring with a 2-yard run, followed by a 1-yard touchdown run by Gibbs in the second quarter. Montgomery added another touchdown with a 6-yard run, and Goff threw a 27-yard pass to St. Brown, extending his franchise record for consecutive games with a touchdown catch to eight.
The Lions led 49-6 early in the fourth quarter after Goff connected with Jameson Williams for a 64-yard touchdown, Brock Wright for a 5-yard score, and St. Brown for a 9-yard touchdown pass.
Goff finished the game with 412 yards and four touchdown passes on 24 of 29 passing. He also had a perfect passer rating, just one week after throwing five interceptions in a win over Houston.
St. Brown (161 yards) and Williams (124 yards) set career highs in receiving yards. Montgomery and Gibbs combined for 218 yards of offense.
Hooker took over for Goff in the fourth quarter and helped set up a 54-yard field goal by Jake Bates. The Lions ran down the clock in the final minutes, choosing not to score again.
Detroit’s defense also got a boost from new defensive end Za’Darius Smith, who had a sack in his debut with the team.
Jacksonville quarterback Mac Jones struggled again, starting in place of the injured Trevor Lawrence. Jones went 17 of 29 for 138 yards and was intercepted late in the third quarter when his pass was picked off by Kerby Joseph, who now has seven interceptions this season.
