The Detroit Lions are in unchartered territory when it comes to the history of their franchise. On Sunday, they will take on the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game, just the second time that the team has played for a spot in the Super Bowl since the game has existed. They will be led into battle by quarterback Jared Goff, who had a career year statistically in during the 2023 NFL season, but has struggled mightily against San Francisco in his most recent matchups.

Goff Just 3-6 Overall Against 49ers In His NFL Career

Jared Goff and Brock Purdy both ranked top 5 in pass yards and TDs in 2023

– Goff: 4,575 pass yards (2nd), 30 pass TD (4th)

– Purdy: 4,280 pass yards (5th), 31 pass TD (3rd)

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— NFL (@NFL) January 23, 2024

Goff had plenty of opportunities to play against the 49ers while he was a member of the Los Angeles Rams, and things started off rather well. The 6th start of his career came on Christmas Eve, and was the worst start of his rookie season (11 for 24, 90 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions). But he and the Rams would rattle off three straight against San Francisco between 2017 and 2018, pushing his career record against them to 3-1.

He hasn’t beaten them since. Goff would play against Kyle Shanahan and company four more times during his tenure in LA, losing all four. Then, in Week 1 of his second season with Detroit, he would lose to them again, pushing his overall record against San Francisco to 3-6, with losses in 5 straight tries.

0-5 In Last 5 Starts With QBR Of 21

#Lions QB Jared Goff in his last 5 starts vs the #49ers:

– Record (0-5)

– 21 QBR

– 5.8 yards per attempt

Will Goff flip the script in the NFC Championship game

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— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 26, 2024

It isn’t just that Goff and his teams are losing. His performances against the 49ers have been some of his poorest against any NFL team during the unfortunate skid, as he is averaging just 5.8 yards per attempt and has a QBR of just 21.

He’ll need to overcome his struggles if the Lions have any hope during NFL Championship Sunday. The city of Detroit is starved for a winning football team, and have been one of the most tortured fan bases in the history of the league. They are in a position that they haven’t seen in well over a generation, and for just the second time ever, and they’ll have to get through the overall Super Bowl favorites in order to even have a shot at the Lombardi Trophy.

They’ll have to overcome big odds to do it, too. San Francisco is currently listed as a 7-point favorite for the contest, and the Lions have the longest Super Bowl odds of any remaining team, by far, coming in at +850.