What They're Saying: Lions' Defense Not Championship Level, Loss Stings
Here is a collection of what was said by Lions players, following a stinging loss to the Seattle Seahawks at Ford Field.
Dan Campbell
On whether he played too conservatively at the end of the game: "I wanted to take it as it came. Here's what I knew: They had two timeouts, and I did not want to give them the ball back. That was No. 1, do not give this ball back. No. 2, can we get down there far enough to score a touchdown. I already had it in my mind, if we get it to a certain point on fourth down, we will go for it. If not, we won't. Kicked the field goal. I felt like our chances were really good in overtime. It didn't work out."
Jared Goff
How losing the home opener feels: "Yeah, they all sting. You would like to get the first one in front of the fans. I think that's what makes it sting a little bit more. That was a real, real, real home-field advantage for us. Having them do that for the rest of the year will be a real, real home-field advantage. Gotta give them something to root for, though, and continue to find ways to win games. But, yeah, today stings. Any time you lose, you've gotta find a way to get back on the horse."
On his mindset on the final drive of regulation: "There's always the dance of how quickly you want to score. I wish I would've hit St. Brown on the in-breaker. That kinda put us behind the sticks a little bit. Maybe I get through my progression on some of those other ones to get a little further down the field and get us in a little bit better strike zone, to take that shot at the end zone. But, ultimately, we didn't get it done, and it stings."
C.J. Gardner-Johnson
His reaction to the 37-31 overtime loss: "This is a marathon. We're not worried about one loss. We're not hyping up pregame, none of that. Everybody fought hard on both sides of the ball, and the best team won today. Ain't nothing you can say, ain't nothing you can do. Just gotta do better on our end, get necessary stops, get the ball back to the offense and let them go down and score."
Where the defense needs to improve moving forward: "All around, from top to bottom, simple as that. We gave up 300-some yards, not good enough. We gave up 37 points, not good enough. You're never gonna win a championship that way. That's on us, as players, to go in day-by-day. Not saying we're not, just gotta day-by-day with that bad taste in our mouth, this is what it feels like."
Josh Reynolds
What the 10-point, fourth-quarter comeback says about the Lions: "Oh yeah, we don't give up. Down 10, we've still gotta play. There's no give up on this team. High hopes for it, that's all the grit, that's all our culture. You're gonna see that."
On if losing to the Seahawks means more than other losses: "Any loss sticks with you but this one, for me personally, I see the Seahawks just about every year. I hate losing to this team, it's just that. So yeah, it's gonna stick with you."
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff
© Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK
Alex Anzalone
On why the pass-rush struggled to bring down Geno Smith: "He's sneaky athletic, he's older but he still has some wheels on him. It felt like we couldn't necessarily get him down or the rush plan wasn't able to get him down."
How he made a key sack in the fourth quarter: "I was man on the tight end and at some point, he was scrambling around and I saw him tuck the ball as I was covering my guy. I said, 'Screw it,' gotta risk it to get the biscuit.' So just pursued and made the play."
Jerry Jacobs
His message to the fans: "We're sorry. Just please keep that same energy, because we ain't gonna let you down. We appreciate the support. That (expletive) was loud. It was a great time, seeing all the people in the stands. Just keep bearing with us. We've got you."
On what the loss means big picture for the Lions: "It's a long season. We've got 15 more games left, we ain't gonna let this one just deflate us. We're gonna keep going, keep getting better and keep pushing, striving."
On if this loss is more difficult than others: "Nah, it's just I hate losing. I hate playing bad. So, just gonna get better."
Jahmyr Gibbs
On whether he felt like the offense could've answered in overtime: "Game like that, you always want a chance to answer back. But, rules are rules. It is what it is, yeah."
On fan support in his first home game: "Fans did a great job supporting us throughout the whole week. So, props to them. We'll be better."
Kerby Joseph
If the loss was shocking or surprising: "To be honest, I feel like it was a letdown. We let the fans down, we just let everybody down. You know what I mean? But, we've just gotta learn from it, game's already over. We've just gotta learn from it and get ready for Atlanta."
