BB.BREAKING: Jared Goff Reveals Hidden Edge That Could Give Lions Huge Week 5 Advantage Over Bengals

The Detroit Lions know all too well the perils of an NFL schedule, and as they come off a short week, they shift to a wounded opponent also set to go through the same logistical issues.

In Week 3, the Lions defeated the Baltimore Ravens in a physical, emotional Monday Night Football game. Then, they had to abruptly shift focus and prepare for the Cleveland Browns, one of the league’s best defenses.

You’ll have to excuse them if they don’t feel badly for the Cincinnati Bengals, then, as they get set to do a similar thing in Week 5. The Bengals sustained an ugly 28-3 loss to the Denver Broncos Monday and had to fly back east on short rest to prepare for a home game with the tough Lions.

Jared Goff knows all too well the difficulties of Monday Night games and short weeks. Joining “Karsch and Anderson” on 97.1 The Ticket, he explained what Cincinnati faces, and revealed why everything feels slightly off on such a short week.

“You’re just a little bit behind. There’s no way around it. It’s just the math of it. I don’t know what time they landed, but they’re starting on us now in theory and we started yesterday. It was the same thing for Cleveland last week and we were a day behind. It sucks.”

More than anything mentally, the physical challenge is the biggest stumbling block in Goff’s mind. The week starts off with a lack of sleep, and preparation is quickly cramped, putting a team in a difficult spot.

“The hardest part is you’re tired. For us, landing from Baltimore, (we) got home at 4:30 in the morning and you’re expected to go to sleep and wake up at whatever time and get back to work. It’s not ideal, but everyone in the league has to deal with it and we got ours out of the way last week and now they’re dealing with it this week.”

The Bengals are a very bruised 2-2, coming in with a critical injury to quarterback Joe Burrow that has challenged their roster. That combined with a short week could set up an ideal situation for the Lions to pounce and remain hot.

Goff looking more fleet of foot in 2025 to quietly help Lions’ offense

In addition to the schedule, there’s another subtle thing that could give the Lions an advantage as they get set to get back on the road. Goff has been able to extend the play in the pocket a bit better than usual in 2025 due to his shocking fleetness of foot.

As Goff explained, he has focused on moving around and improving his foot speed as it relates to escaping in multiple different offseasons. Even if it seems as if he is much better this season, he hasn’t put any more or less focus on the trait in terms of his preparation lately.

“I’m always working on that. I don’t know if it’s something I put more emphasis on this year rather than others. I’m always trying to get better at that through the offseason and different training ways and working on my foot speed and quickness in the pocket. I’m obviously not going to run for a ton of yards, but if I can keep my feet hot and move around the pocket quickly, it helps us.”

This week, Goff is going to have deftness in the pocket with Trey Hendrickson bearing down on him up front. Last week, he had to deal with Myles Garrett and did a good job. Hendrickson will pose a similar challenge this time around no matter how good a resurgent offensive line is playing.

Perhaps the Lions will be able to count on a little less gas in the tank from the Bengals to help them over the top on the road. If that’s the case, the schedule makers could be the biggest culprits.

Jared Goff set to become more Detroit Lion than Los Angeles Ram

On Sunday, quarterback Jared Goff will start his 70th career regular season game as a Detroit Lion. That’s significant because he began his career starting 69 total games for the team that drafted him: the Los Angeles Rams. So by the time he walks off the field in Cincinnati, his career will officially be more Detroit Lions than it will be Los Angeles Rams.

Goff learned about this fact earlier in the week during his regular 97.1 The Ticket radio appearance. And it’s fair to say his identity has fully taken over as a Detroiter.

“I wear a lot of Carhartt. That might be part of it.”

Okay, maybe there’s some work to do there.

But when it comes to his football identity, he is more Lion than Ram.

“I’ve certainly become a Lion now in my career,” Goff told Detroit media on Wednesday. “When I look back on it, it’s going to be majority Lions. Hopefully, a lot more majority as we go on. But yeah, it’s been a fun journey here; it’s been fun to grow into and to be a part of this city. And to now, I guess flip the scale in that way is cool.”

What’s truly remarkable about this moment in Goff’s career is how his Lions and Rams careers are near mirror images of each other. In his 69 games as a Rams starter, he amassed a 42-27 record despite a 0-7 start. In his 69 games as a Lions starter, he’s 42-26-1 despite a 3-10-1 start to his career. In LA, he made the Super Bowl in his third year with the team. In Year 3 in Detroit, he made the NFC Championship game.

The obvious difference is that there has been no downfall in Detroit. While his productivity and trust from his coaching staff eroded with the Rams, the Lions have never been more confident in Goff.

“I’m telling you, the guy is playing at a very high level,” Campbell said last week during a radio appearance. “You talk about running the quarterback position, nobody’s playing it better than him right now.

The numbers certainly back that up. Goff is currently holding the highest completion percentage (73.8), passer rating (113.0), and QBR (81.7) of his entire 10-year career.

And he hopes, by the time his career is over, that his Lions’ career dwarfs his five years in Los Angeles. But how far away is that finish line? Goff isn’t ready to say.

“That’s a big question right now. I’m in Week 5. Hopefully, a long time, I don’t know. Yeah, hard to answer. I think a long time,” Goff said