Los Angeles Rams: Where Jared Goff goes so do the Rams

The Los Angeles Rams and their quarterback Jared Goff have agreed to be linked for the foreseeable future. Tuesday afternoon the Rams announced that they had signed a contract extension for the next four seasons.

Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams agreed to a four-year, $134 million dollar contract, $110 which is guaranteed. This makes him the highest guaranteed player in the NFL, besting Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz at $107.9 million.

The number-one pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, Goff has produced since he was joined by coach Sean McVay. Goff has been named to the Pro Bowl the last two years while passing for 60 touchdowns, leading the Rams to consecutive NFC West division titles.

In 2018, Goff was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, completing 64.9 percent of his passes and passing for 4,688 yards, second all-time for the franchise in single-season passing yards. Goff led the Rams to their first Super Bowl since 2001 and their first in Los Angeles since 1979.

It was in the playoffs where questions about Goff come up. In his first playoff start in 2017, Goff was mediocre as he and the Rams struggled and lost at home to the Atlanta Falcons. In 2018, Goff was better but he was less accurate, passing for 55.7 percent.

In the NFC Championship Game Goff showed leadership and command, leading the Rams to a comeback win after starting the game down 13-0. But in the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots, Goff looked lost.

The high powered Rams offense was only able to score three points, the worst output for a team in 47 years. Goff only completed 19 passes, was sacked four times and threw a costly interception late in the game when the Rams still had a chance to get back in the game.

The Super Bowl loss was similar to Goff’s second half of the 2018 season. In his first eight games, he completed 68 percent of his passes and had a touchdown (TD) to interception (INT) ratio of 17 to five. In his last eight games, Goff completed 62 percent of his passes and his TD to INT ratio was 15 to 7.

It was no coincidence that Goff struggles began when his favorite receiver Cooper Kupp was lost after game eight and that when he was at his worst Goff faced off against the league’s stout defenses.

Goff is a proven talent, he can match his 2018 season and even better it without the contract talks hanging over him and with Cooper Kupp back in the fold. That won’t quiet the questions about his abilities and leadership.

At 24 years old, Goff is in his prime he has shown off the kind of talent that puts him in the conversation to be among the NFL elite. Questions remain, will he rebound from the terrible Super Bowl loss? Will he be more adaptable when dealing with adversity this year, or will elite NFL defenses bottle him up?

With Tuesday’s announcement, the Los Angeles Rams and Goff will have four more years to answer those questions and four more chances at winning a Super Bowl title.