Detroit (FOX 2) – Jared Goff is entering his fourth season as the Detroit Lions’ quarterback, and the first with his huge contract extension. The first game is not easy, as he faces his former squad, the Los Angeles Rams.
Every week, Goff gets down with the Lions’ voice, FOX 2’s Dan Miller, to discuss the upcoming week and what to anticipate. In the first interview of the 2024 season, Goff confesses that facing a Rams defence without the recently retiring Aaron Donald is preferable to facing the future Hall of Famer – but it will not be easy.
“Yeah, it’s a whole lot better,” Goff joked. “It’s definitely easier to prepare for. That’s not to say they don’t have some fantastic players there. But when you have someone like him in the midst of your defence, it takes a lot of energy to prepare. And I know how much energy our coaches put into devising plays around that. But they still have some butt kickers up front. They also drafted a few pretty good players. So we have our hands full.”
Goff is eager to return to work and perhaps remove the sour taste from their lips after the 2023 season concluded.
“I’m excited to get back to work. It seems like. Yes, exactly like that. We’re back to playing games, which is frustrating given how the season finished last year. But we’re happy to come back in front of our home fans and have another great season,” he remarked.
While he is excited to compete again, Goff is aware of the challenges this club has faced. In his debut season behind centre in 2021, the Lions won just three games, ranking lowest in the NFL. The following season, they finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs. Then, in 2023, they captured the NFC North for the first time in history. But head coach Dan Campbell wants to keep the locker room from talking about the Super Bowl and the future.
“I think for us, we’re in such a unique position where we were, you know, not very long ago at the bottom of this whole thing and have fought our way up to where we are now to have those expectations and, in many ways, earn them. But you know, we have to earn it every week. And, as I mentioned, we’ve been on the other side of it, just trying to find a way to win, and now we believe we’ve got a fairly solid team, terrific coaches, and a chance to make some noise this year. But that won’t happen unless you win the first one, then the second, and so on,” Goff explained.
However, last year’s experience will be critical to the success of this youthful team.
“I believe it comes down to those late-game situations when the game will either go one way or another. Is it third or fourth down? You get that stop, the offence regains possession, and you finish the game on offence. Those small brief moments right there are usually the difference in the game. And our troops know when those are. And, truly, dialling in makes the difference,” Goff added.
The Lions kick begin the season on Sunday night at Ford Field against the Rams, and Goff knows that the explosive atmosphere from last year’s playoff run will be a factor all season.
“It’s becoming into one of the best home environments in the league. And it’s a compliment to our supporters. They’ve remained with us and obviously gone through some tough times with us, and now we’re on the other side of it, where they can be thrilled about what we’re doing and have people come out for us on Sundays and make a real difference in the game. And I know they’re aware of this. “And it really helps us win,” Goff stated.
Prepare for the Lions’ opening game of the season on Sunday with FOX 2 all week long. FOX 2 is the home of the Lions and will preview the game at 10 a.m. on Sunday, PLUS a special Sportsworks at 11:30 on FOX 2 on Sunday night.
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