Jared Goff of the Lions is the best QB in the NFC North. Sam Darnold is not in the top three.

“These guys gave us a lot of testing,” Goff said. “They really were.”

Trailing 29-28, Goff moved the Lions from their 30 to the Vikings' 22 yard. Four plays later, Jake Bates hit a game-winning 44-yard field goal. Absorb an early deficit. Trigger of the comeback. Manage the game-winning drive. All on the move in front of an announced crowd of 66,971 spectators. The few thousand Lions fans in attendance did not prevent the atmosphere from becoming hostile.

This is what you need in a leader.

When Goff came to Detroit via the Matthew Stafford trade, it seemed like he would be banished to the Motor City as the Rams won Super Bowl LVI following the 2021 season. Goff led the Kitties' resurrection. Sunday's win was the Lions' fourth straight and they beat the conference's last undefeated team. The Lions are the real deal now, and Goff could get his shot at a title.

Darnold's numbers aren't bad, but following a recent trend, he's leaving distance on the field. On Sunday, he failed to take advantage of a questionable Lions secondary. He intercepted a pass from Brian Branch, which led to a Detroit touchdown and a 21-10 Lions lead at halftime. Darnold completed 12 of 14 passes in the second half. He completed 81.5% of his attempts, which is excellent. But he didn't end well.

After linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. recovered a David Montgomery fumble and scored in the fourth quarter, Darnold's two-point conversion pass failed to pass to Jordan Addison. With less than three minutes left, he sailed a third-down pass to Justin Jefferson that would have kept the drive alive to shorten the clock even further or even score.