“He’s Got a Lot of Game Balls”: Aidan Hutchinson on Why Jared Goff Wasn’t Given One Despite a Perfect Passing Percentage

Earlier this week, Jared Goff had one of the most efficient games in his career and NFL history, completing all 18 of his attempts. Under normal circumstances, a 100% completion rate would at least merit the game ball, but the QB was surprisingly snubbed. When asked why, his teammate Aidan Hutchinson gave a humorous response.

In his interview with Kay Adams, Aidan revealed that nobody in the team knew that Goff had such a perfect game against the Seahawks. So, he argued that this was the reason why nobody must have given Goff the game ball.

However, he did reveal that head coach Dan Campbell gave the QB a pat on the back at a meeting post-game. “He got his flowers this morning. Dan shouted him up in the meeting,” Hutchinson said.

Then, who received the special ball after the game? Aidan didn’t have a definitive answer, but he justified Goff’s snub by playfully stating that the QB has already received too many balls in his career, so he wouldn’t miss this one.

“I think he’s got a lot of game balls in his life. [So] you know, some other guys got the game balls…”

How did Jared Goff not get a game ball after the #Lions win on Monday night?

Aidan: “I didn’t even know that he had no incompletions or anything…” @heykayadams @aidanhutch97 @JaredGoff16 @Lions pic.twitter.com/ahzmmJ3WSy

— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) October 3, 2024

Jokes aside, having a 100 percent completion rate is not an everyday occurrence for a QB. So, the snub does feel a bit unexpected. But as Campbell later revealed, it was an honest mistake.

Even the head coach didn’t know about Goff’s perfect game

As Campbell revealed in his post-match press conference, even he had no idea about the perfect completion rate recorded by his talisman. Thus, in a state of ignorance, he unintentionally awarded the game ball to someone else.

The head coach, however, was gracious enough to admit his lack of knowledge and revealed that he felt “awful” about the mishap. After all, a perfect pass percentage is a rarity in the NFL.

“Well, I just gave the game ball to somebody else, so I feel awful right now… I knew he played a heck of a game. I did not realize he was perfect. I did not know he was literally 18 for 18… but I knew he played really well. You could feel it.”

The fact that nobody on the Lions roster recognized the brilliance of Goff’s performance highlights the greatness of the QB.

Over the years, Jared has made his teammates accustomed to flawlessness, to the point that even a 100% completion rate goes unnoticed. Thus, one could argue that Goff, in this case, is suffering from success.