When the Lions re-signed quarterback Jared Goff earlier this year, there was an expectation that he would step up his play.

He has.

Goff has two consecutive games with a passer rating of 150 or higher. With one more Sunday in Minnesota, Goff becomes the first quarterback in NFL history to do so three straight games.

Against the Cowboys on Sunday, Goff’s passer rating was 153.8. In Detroit’s previous game, a Monday night in Week 4 against the Seahawks, Goff’s perfect 18-on-18 night didn’t lead to a perfect passer rating, but he was close to a perfect passer rating, at 155.8. (The perfect passer rating is 158.3; Goff’s touchdown percentage was slightly below statistical perfection.)

Three quarterbacks have strung together a trio of passer ratings above 140: Roger Staubach in 1971; Kurt Warner in 1999; and Aaron Rodgers in 2011.

It won’t be easy against the Brian Flores-led defense. That said, Goff had a perfect passer rating against the Vikings on a Thursday night in 2018. At the time, though, Minnesota’s defense was led by Mike Zimmer — whose Dallas defense once again shredded Goff like dried-out cheddar in the Lions’ most recent game.