No Moment Too Big for Playoff-Tested Jared Goff
There’s no debating it: Jared Goff has cemented his spot in Detroit Lions lore. He did just that by leading the Lions to their first playoff victory in 32 years on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.
The veteran signal-caller didn’t play a “bit part” in the milestone win for Detroit, either. He very much played a starring role.
He led the Lions on three consecutive 75-yard touchdown drives to open up the game. Plus, he connected with his go-to target, Amon-Ra St. Brown, on an 11-yard completion with 2:00 remaining to close out the contest. He finished the postseason tilt 22–of-27 for 277 yards and a touchdown.
It was the latest chapter in Goff’s career resurgence, and another example of the one-time Rams quarterback proving he’s capable of winning big games.
Yet, going into the wild-card playoff matchup, not everybody believed he would get the job done versus his former employer.
“I got the question a lot prior to this past week, ‘How will these guys handle this, a big game and all these guys not playing in a big game before?’ I’m happy I don’t have to answer that question anymore, because we won a big game and these guys can handle all this,” Goff said during his media session Wednesday. “So, it’d be the same thing with this week is, yeah, it’s another big game, it’s another playoff game and these guys have played in big games. We just won a big game last week, and we’ll be ready to go.”
With the help of Goff, the Lions produced a banner regular season in 2023: 12 wins, a division championship (the first for Detroit in 30 years) and the very first home playoff game in Ford Field history.
Despite all the success, the road wasn’t always smooth for Goff & Co., though. They experienced their fair share of rough moments, including a string of devastating defeats. Most notably, Dan Campbell’s team lost to the Seahawks and the Packers at home in Weeks 2 and 12, respectively, plus suffered a blowout loss to the Ravens in Week 7 and a controversial defeat at the hands of the Cowboys in Week 17.
As challenging as the journey may have been at times, it was well worth it to the Lions franchise passer.
“This is the best,” Goff said of the opportunity to play in the postseason. “This is what you do it for, is times like this. You work all season, you work all offseason to get to opportunities like this. And, we’re here now.”
Goff & Co. have accomplished all that they have this season while being backed by a playoff-starved, rabid fanbase. Prior to Detroit’s win over the Rams Sunday, it had won just one playoff game since its NFL Championship in 1957.
This group of fans showed up in droves throughout the regular season – even on the road – and packed the stands for the Lions’ playoff opener with L.A., producing the loudest, most electric atmosphere in Ford Field history.
As was the case Sunday, the Lions faithful repeatedly have made it known – and in a loud-and-proud manner – just how much the ‘23 campaign has meant to them.
While Goff and his teammates are aware of the organization’s previous putrid history, they’ve played with just one purpose in mind all season: to win as many games as possible for each other.
“I mean, we’ve been saying it all year, it’s about this team. It has nothing to do with the last 30 years here,” Goff expressed. “And obviously, that’s the case for the city and the fans and a lot of you guys. But, to us, it’s about us and winning games, and being in a spot now in the playoffs where we can continue our season every week and have those chances, (which) is important.”
Goff is far from satisfied with just one win in this year’s postseason. He and the Lions have intentions of making a deeper run, with a divisional playoff tilt with the Buccaneers awaiting them this weekend.
It’s a rematch of a Week 6 regular season matchup that saw Detroit prevail, 20-6, at Raymond James Stadium. In the aforementioned contest, the eighth-year passer completed 30-of-44 passes for 353 yards and two touchdowns.
Goff understands that it won’t be easy to replicate that kind of production against the Buccaneers, which owned the NFL’s seventh-ranked defense during the regular season (19.1 points allowed per game). It’s a defensive unit littered with playmakers, such as safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and nose tackle Vita Vea, that allowed just nine points to the reigning NFC champion Eagles in the wild-card round.
“They do a whole hell of a lot. They’ve got really good players,” Goff said of Tampa Bay’s defense. “I think Winfield’s as good as it gets at safety. I think both the linebackers (Lavonte David and Devin White) are as good as a linebacker duo gets, and I think Vita Vea’s as good as it gets upfront. So, they’ve got a lot of good players all over the place, and it’s a good defense.”
