Jared Goff isn’t 100%, but he’s making no excuses: ‘My thumb is fine’

Jared Goff’s toughness should never be questioned – not after playing through a broken thumb two weeks ago against the Seahawks, and then pushing through the injury again Saturday just 12 days after undergoing surgery, also against Seattle. Goff may not have played his best in either of those games, but all that matters is he helped lead the Rams to a 30-20 win over the Seahawks in the wild-card round, punching their ticket to next weekend’s action.

Watching Goff play Saturday, it was easy to see that his surgically repaired thumb was bothering him. He winced a number of times after hitting the ground or handing the ball off. He threw a few wobbly passes to receivers that he would’ve otherwise driven with more velocity. He didn’t even high-five Sean McVay with his right hand as a precaution.

But despite the injury, Goff still played well enough when the Rams needed him most, completing 9 of 19 passes for 155 yards and one touchdown. After the game, Goff made no excuses for his injury. He said he’s not in any pain, and said definitively, “my thumb is fine,” but he also acknowledged that his thumb isn’t 100% yet.

Take one look at Goff’s thumb and you’ll immediately realize that no, Goff’s thumb is certainly not 100% healthy. It doesn’t look normal, it’s swollen, and there’s no denying that an injury such as that one can impact throwing, gripping and handing off the ball.

But Goff isn’t one to make excuses. He’s not going to buy into the narrative that he only struggled because of his thumb.

“It feels good. It feels good. I feel, I think, as good as I’m going to feel. It’s still recovering, it’s still coming along, but it feels pretty good,” Goff told Tom Rinaldi after the win. “I’m not going to use it as any excuse today. I thought there were maybe some out there, but it feels good and most importantly, we’re excited to move on. I get to use this thumb for another week.”

Goff deserves a lot of credit for the job he did in this game. It was chilly in Seattle, he was facing a swarming Seahawks defense and had to come in unexpectedly after Wolford got hurt. It was even reported on Saturday that Wolford got the majority of the reps in practice, so Goff didn’t even have a normal week of work.

He takes a lot of criticism for the way he played this season, and understandably so, but Goff showed up in the biggest moment – the most important game of Los Angeles’ season.

Of course, next week will be an even bigger game, but McVay doesn’t yet know who will start at quarterback. Goff’s thumb probably still won’t be 100%, and Wolford suffered a stinger in the win and may not be ready.

Regardless of whether it’s Wolford or Goff, the Rams will have a quarterback capable of winning big games under center – even if neither one is 100% healthy.