What They're Saying: 'Everything Runs Through Detroit'
Here is a collection of postgame quotes from Detroit Lions players and coaches following Sunday's 24-23 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
On what it took for tight end Sam LaPorta to play Sunday: "He did a ton. It's a credit to Fisch (Director of Player Health and Performance Brett Fischer) and those guys, (Head Athletic Trainer Mike) Sundeen, trainers, all those guys to get him back. It was, honestly, it was kind of 24 hour care there. I don't know all the voodoo magic they did to him, I can't explain all of it. It was critical. Just getting the swelling out, getting it to where it felt better and to where he trusted it. And really by, I felt like, Wednesday, you just want to make sure that he feels comfortable. You could tell by Wednesday, he was, 'Alright, I can do this.' It just got better and better every day. Credit to all those guys, and certainly Sam. He's tough, he wasn't gonna let it hold him down. We put in some things to really spread the ball around to our other guys because we didn't know if we'd have him entirely but we knew we needed him in the run game and he showed up and helped us today."
On if Detroit is his home: "Yeah, you know, I hope so. This place is special to me and these people are special. That's the best home atmosphere I've ever played in front of and I expect next week to be on top of that or second. It's a special place to play, and I've only been here for three years. But to see us come from where we were to where we are now and the fans endure some of that, it's special to be able to get this W for them and for this group and our locker room."
On why the defense was so good in the red zone: "We put an emphasis on our red zone kind of in the middle of the season, maybe a little later in the season when we realized it wasn't really up to par. It's kind of hard to describe how you change your red zone defense, but I think it was more of a mentality shift. Now we've just got to stop the self-inflicted wounds, those big explosives, they kill you in these big games."
On the emotions of winning the first playoff game since 1991: "It's really special. It's been a long time since it happened, so to be able to celebrate with these guys is awesome."
On his feelings going into the Divisional Round: "This (expletive) ain't done. We've got two more banners to hang and I'm not, like I told y'all and my teammates told y'all, we ain't selling short for nothing. So I feel like, right now, everything is in our hands. Everything runs through Detroit right now until we get to the championship of the conference."
On how the team felt for Jared Goff after beating Rams: "I ain't gonna cap to y'all, I ain't gonna speak on something that I wasn't a part of but I know they probably loved winning a playoff game. These fans are with J.G., they're not with no Matthew Stafford. Matthew Stafford's over there, so don't talk about that."
On the environment in the locker room: "Yeah, it was electric. You know, 30 years, playoff win at home, Jared playing his old team, some other, Josh Reynolds, other people that were with the Rams. Stafford coming back here, just the whole storyline. It was a highly anticipated game, we knew it was gonna be a whole group, team effort. But it was fun being back in here to celebrate."
His emotions after winning: "Finally, man. Just finally. Being in these games, being in these moments, it feels good. When I first got here, I knew that was the goal, just to get our foot in the door. Now that we're in, it's time to kick that b**tch down."
His feelings winning a playoff game as the longest-tenured Lion: "It's just a culmination of all the hard times when you just keep showing up, you keep going to work, you keep working hard because you know you have a goal in mind. Sometimes it might feel like it's two steps back, but you just keep showing up. There's no other way to go about it. Those tough times make these times even sweeter."
On what the team proved in Sunday's win: "That we can answer the bell in big-time games. I was telling the guys before the game that the moment we've been working for, it's here. We've been putting in the work, blood, sweat, tears, pain. And now it's here, and now all we have to do is go out there and execute to win. So just special that we were able to do that."
If he realizes how special this win is for the city of Detroit: "I think so, especially that last series when the offense had the ball. We know everything this team's been through, this organization's been through through decades. We were able to make history tonight and keep it going."
