I've rewatched that game about 3 times and I have to tell you, Goff deserves a gold star for it; not an albatross around his neck.
I think that Rams Pats game is like a capsule of the Rams season and why to pick on Goff because of it doesn't add up.
1) Goff was constantly under pressure. Yet, he didn't stare at the rush; he always kept his eyes downfield, praying SOMEBODY could get open. No deer in the headlights; no diving for the turf (although he probably should have a couple of times). And he was no checkdown Charlie. He's always looking downfield to make a play.
2) Rams WRs simply couldn't hang on to well thrown balls and couldn't consistently get open. Tough catches? Forget about it. Goff got no help.
3) Kendricks (not unusual for him) had a ball bounce right off those stone hands into a DB's hands. Who gets the blame on his stat sheet? Goff.
4) Britt showed why he was let go even though he wound up at 1000 yards. Well thrown balls simply dropped....often chain moving throws.
5) Goff moved around very well in the pocket, extending plays. No, he's not Russell Wilson. But he's also not a statue. And he throws pretty darn well on the run.
6) Had to be the most vanilla offense/play calling in the world. Pats seemed to know exactly what was coming.
7) Yes, Goff missed some open WRs. Some of his throws weren't great, but a typical NFL quality WR would have snagged at least some of them.
8) Brady missed some open WRs. He is human; all QBs will at times miss open WRs.
9) Gurley ran hard but a defender was sometimes there at the instant he got the handoff the Oline play was so poor.
10) The Defense made bonehead plays and couldn't defend the RB who bounced to the outside. LBs and DEs constantly getting caught inside.
11) WRs would run 7 yard routes on 3rd and 8 or 9. Dumb, dumb, dumb. That kind of sums up the Fisher years on offense.
12) Utterly predictable that if the Rams passed on first for an incompletion, or got stuffed for a loss, 2nd down was nearly ALWAYS a run.
There's more. But the point is that yes, Goff looked like a rookie throwing high sometimes and one INT that was on him. But he didn't look rattled, out of his league, or like he was scared or incompetent. He was asked to do the impossible: to elevate a bad offense. He had to learn a new offense, learn how to drop back, how to huddle up and call plays, had coaching from inexperienced coaches, had poor Recievers, a poor Oline, and generally predictable-vanilla play calling. Kid never had a chance.
I'm really impressed in watching the replays that he kept his cool and never got down in any visible way.
I'm NOT predicting stardom for Goff. What I am predicting is that in a couple of years he's going to be no worse than an Andy Dalton, could be as good as an Eli Manning. But unless he has good skill players, a competent Oline, and good coaching with unchanging systems for some years, he'll never achieve anymore than a Sam Bradford or a Gabbert. But at a VERY young 22 years old, I can't count out the possibility that if the lights come on in 2 or 3 years (like it did for him in college), he'll be a top 5 or 6 QB. He has good arm talent and a good demeanor and decent size.
Perhaps I've drunk the Kool-Aid. But I think the Rams have given Goff a gold mine in McVay and his offensive coaching staff. If they can't get it out of him, then it can't be had. The remaining issues then are his supporting staff. I do think they seem to have made some progress there. What I really like is McVay refusing to belch glowing words for Goff. This both puts too much pressure on the kid, and raises too much expectation in the press and in fans. And, its not earned. For McVay, clearly there are no moral victories and play on the practice field is not the equivalent of a W. He measures his players, especially the QB, on getting wins. I like that.
