Goff faces his latest moment of truth

Jared Goff faces his latest moment of truth in showdown with Cowboys

Vincent Bonsignore

https://theathletic.com/761349/2019/01/10/jared-goff-faces-his-latest-moment-of-truth-in-showdown-with-cowboys/

THOUSAND​ OAKS, Calif. —​ Out of the​ blue,​ and for​ no​ apparent reason​ other​ than​ he​ could, Todd Gurley​ did a dead​​ jump right at his locker Tuesday after the Rams wrapped up their late afternoon walk-through. The get-up level was NBA worthy, and it was a pretty clear sign the Pro Bowl running back was feeling as good as he has in weeks after missing the last two games of the regular season with a left knee injury.
Barring any sort of a setback, he will be in uniform on Saturday when the Rams welcome the Dallas Cowboys to the Coliseum for an NFC divisional round playoff game. Hence, his broad smile. Gurley’s expected return also had head coach Sean McVay and everyone else bouncing around the Rams’ practice facility all week.
A healthy Gurley, along with the returns of safety Lamarcus Joyner and left tackle Andrew Whitworth, means the Rams are as fit as possible as they approach their biggest game since returning to Los Angeles in 2016.
Still very much in the process of winning over L.A.’s hearts and taking their place alongside the Lakers, Dodgers and USC football as iconic local sports brands, the Rams can take a significant step forward in that process by winning a home playoff game and advancing to the NFC Championship Game.
A victory would mean back-to-back seasons of progress — of not just making the playoffs but also making their presence felt on a stage where legends are created. Los Angeles might be a star-driven market, but don’t mistake its obsession with star power for shallowness. Your name is predicated on performance. And performance is reliant on winning. And winning is only meaningful when it is sustained and reliable.
That’s how stars are born in L.A. It’s how hearts and souls are won over and long-lasting fanbases get built.
Three years into the Rams’ reconnection with Los Angeles and re-establishing their local stature, a win on Saturday would represent huge strides in that direction. A loss would be an opportunity wasted. The Rams wouldn’t lose fans if they fell to the Cowboys, but a chance to pull many more into the fold could fall by the wayside.
Being at full strength — with a healthy Gurley — goes a long way toward making sure the Rams capitalize on the opportunity at hand.

But let’s make one thing perfectly clear: While Gurley will play a prominent role in how Saturday’s game unfolds and the Rams offensive line will be a factor and Aaron Donald and the defense needs to perform and Sean McVay must remain disciplined in his play calling and decision making, the Rams advancing one step closer to Super Bowl LIII rests squarely and decidedly on one man’s shoulders.
This is your moment, Jared Goff.
Everything is set up for the 2016 first overall pick to lead the Rams past Dallas and declare them, and himself, legitimate big-stage performers worthy of the distinction so many L.A. sports stars have attained over the years. He can quiet most critics, eliminate almost all remaining doubts and solidify himself as the franchise quarterback the Rams hoped he would be after moving all the way to the top of the draft to select him.
All he has to do is deliver on Saturday.
That is really what all of this comes down to.
If Goff plays well — taking care of the football, throwing accurately and maximizing the Rams’ trips to the red zone — they will punch their ticket to the NFC title game against the winner of Sunday’s Eagles-Saints divisional playoff. If he falters — letting the moment engulf him and reacting poorly to whatever tense situations he encounters — the Rams are doomed.
It’s as simple as that.
Right or wrong, justified or not, the events that unfold on Saturday night at the Coliseum won’t just level or steepen the Rams’ climb back to local prominence. It will also intensify the scrutiny under which their young quarterback is judged.
None of which is lost on Goff.
“Yeah, definitely. You’re always going to be what your record is, especially as a quarterback,” he said. “You win games — or I guess winning percentage. Winning is the most important stat and that’s no different in the playoffs. Even a little bit more so in the playoffs, I think.”
His coach understands as well.
“I think that there’s always going to be, sometimes as a quarterback, you’re under such a microscope where every little thing is just dissected and looked at,” McVay said. “What I think Jared’s so good about is he’s really unaffected by the outside noise. He focuses on what he can do to control a better performance or continuing to do a lot of the things he’s done at a high level.”
All that is left now is for Goff to prove it.
By no means is Saturday a finish line. Other challenges await. Should the Rams move on to the NFC Championship Game, the ball will be re-set to see if Goff and the Rams can clear the next hurdle. Another challenge, another narrative.
But first, they have to rise above the obstacle in front of them. Goff’s performance will go a long way in determining whether they do or not.
My instincts tell me he won’t just seize the night — he’ll revel in it.
In so many ways, Goff is prepared for what is coming on Saturday after surviving a rough rookie year in 2016 and bouncing back with a Pro Bowl season in 2017 while piloting the Rams to a division title. Even the playoff loss to the Falcons last year seems to have hardened him, and he responded with an even better 2018 campaign while leading the Rams to a 13-3 record and a league-high four wins over playoff opponents.

Goff embraced and delivered on big stages against the Vikings, Seahawks and Chiefs. He brought the Rams roaring back on the road in New Orleans, pulling them out of a 21-point hole to put them in position to beat the best team in the NFC late in the fourth quarter.
Neither Goff nor the Rams sneaked up on anyone this season as they did last year. Yet they were a much better team with an even better record to show for it. Goff was a huge reason why.
And as he prepared for the biggest game of the season this week, he was decidedly upbeat. Loose and confident, even. Not cocky necessarily, but aware of the opportunity and eager to own it. He looks physically and mentally ready to deliver on Saturday. But, like everyone else, I just need to see it.
Undoubtedly, answers will be provided late Saturday night. But for now, we are consumed by the unknown.
What do the Rams have, exactly, in their 23-year-old quarterback? We know this much: After a rocky rookie season, Goff has been one of the best regular-season quarterbacks in the NFL.
The Rams are 23-8 over the last two seasons with Goff starting under center and have scored the most points in the NFL. They’ve won two straight NFC West titles for the first time since 1978 and ’79, and Goff was rewarded with Pro Bowl honors both seasons.
Aside from a three-game hiccup to start December — partly due to the offensive line slumping a bit — he has consistently performed as one of the league’s top five or six quarterbacks.
But we also know this: In his one playoff appearance last year against the Falcons, Goff, like many of the Rams that night at the Coliseum, wasn’t at his best while completing 24 of 45 passes for 259 yards and a touchdown in a disappointing 26-13 loss. Given his age and experience, it was an understandable learning experience for a quarterback some people mistakenly wrote off as a bust just one season before.
A year later, a similar performance and result will cause eyebrows to raise and doubts to mount.
“I think he’s done an excellent job of learning from that experience,” McVay said. “I think he’s a better player than he was a year ago. He’s gotten better physically. I think he’s got a better understanding of what we’re trying to get done, what defenses are trying to do from an above-the-neck standpoint. I just think that he’s better equipped to play at a higher level just based on getting better, focusing on the little things and doing it the right way one day at a time.”
Without a doubt, questions will be answered on Saturday. About the Rams and Goff.
But when Rams fans lay their heads on their pillows, will the answers please them?
Stay tuned.