Jared Goff has been great for the Los Angeles Rams this season. Without him, they’re not 11-4 and sitting atop the NFC West for the first time since 2003. As a Pro Bowl alternate, he’s been recognized often for the way he’s played in Sean McVay’s offense, throwing 28 touchdown passes and just seven interceptions in 15 games.

He’s done everything the Rams have asked of him, and then some, which is why he’s one of the NFL’s most improved players.

On Sunday against the Titans, he padded his stats with a 301-yard, four-touchdown day, posting a passer rating of 118.4 – his fourth-best of the season. On the surface, his numbers look great, especially those four touchdown passes. However, if you dig deeper, you’ll realize that they’re a bit misleading.

On passes to Todd Gurley, Goff was 10-for-13 for 158 yards and two touchdowns. When targeting wide receivers, Goff was just 10-for-23 for 128 yards and two touchdowns. He also completed two passes to Tyler Higbee, but hitting his wideouts consistently was a struggle.

That’s not to say Goff was bad on Sunday. He wasn’t. However, for a guy who threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns, you’d expect the film to be better than it was.

Here’s an example of an inaccurate pass that’s tough to explain. He has a clean pocket, time to throw and it’s a simple slant over the middle. He leads Watkins too far, resulting in an incompletion.

On this play, he feels pressure that isn’t necessarily there. Goff does a good job stepping up in the pocket, but by moving to his right, he actually runs directly into the pass rusher, resulting in a bad throw that could’ve gone for a decent gain.

Later in the game, Goff targets Watkins on another crossing route, but this time, he throws well behind his receiver. There were defenders around him, but Goff had a big window to throw into, he simply missed it.

Even on his completions, Goff didn’t hit receivers in stride.

And again to Gurley, who fortunately made defenders miss on his own.

His awareness was lacking a bit on Sunday, too. With the Rams in the red zone, Goff held the ball too long. He didn’t feel the rush coming off the right side while he was looking left, resulting in a fumble.

Fortunately, Andrew Whitworth fell on it to retain possession, but Sam Ficken would miss a 35-yard field goal one play later – a kick that would’ve been easier had Goff not fumbled it.

He fumbled it one other time in the game, although that was a mistake on Jamon Brown’s part, but this play easily could’ve been his third of the day. Rather than realizing the situation, Goff hesitates to run it himself.

Instead, he stalls at the line of scrimmage, resulting in a short gain and a failed third-down conversion. He’s fortunate the Titans didn’t strip him of the ball.

This play could’ve been very bad for the Rams, too. Goff tried to hit Robert Woods on a short tunnel screen after faking a pitch to Gurley, but Brian Orakpo wasn’t fooled. He rose up and got in Goff’s throwing lane, making it difficult to hit his target.

If Orakpo gets his hand on the ball, or even intercepts it, the Titans may score on a pick-six going the other way. That’s a play you’d like to see Goff eat, or at least pump-fake after seeing his receiver covered.

Now, it may seem like we’re only harping on the bad plays Goff made. Realistically, we have been. However, there were a handful of nice throws made by the second-year quarterback – both of which went to Cooper Kupp.

The first came in the opening quarter, 34 yards downfield. He dropped it in the bucket, allowing Kupp to make a beautiful toe-tapping grab for a big gain. It was reminiscent of his throw to Watkins against the 49ers in Week 2.

Then in the fourth quarter, Goff hit Kupp for what would be the game-winning touchdown, putting some nice touch on the throw in the corner of the end zone.

Kupp also dropped an easy pass over the middle, which didn’t help Goff’s case, but Tyler Higbee made a great catch on this back-shoulder throw. Goff released it before the tight end came out of his break, hitting him on the sideline.

It wasn’t an easy throw or catch, but both guys made nice plays to convert on third.

As a whole, it was an up-and-down day for Goff. He made some really nice throws, and he made some ugly ones. One thing’s for sure, though: The Titans made him uncomfortable in the pocket, and it showed even when the pressure wasn’t there.

It’s a credit to McVay for negating the Titans’ pass rush with screens to Gurley, helping Goff get in a bit of a rhythm. Moving forward, Goff simply has to be better when under pressure.