Goff: Team would’ve ‘loved’ chance to play in playoffs
Jared Goff had a banner year for the Detroit Lions, defying the expectations of what many thought the team would be during the second half of the season.
The signal-caller earned his third career Pro Bowl appearance after a solid campaign. He threw for 4,438 yards and 29 touchdowns, both statistics placing top-five in Lions singleseason history.
He appeared on “The Rich Eisen Show” Monday to discuss the Lions’ season, stories about head coach Dan Campbell and the future of the team.
Here are highlights from his appearance.
Campbell’s fake tooth
Goff was brought to Detroit as one of the first moves made by the new regime of Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes.
From early in his time with the Lions, Goff told Eisen that he has plenty of memorable stories. Among them was an experience he had during the team’s first training camp together in 2021.
Goff explained that Campbell was speaking during a team meeting when one of his teeth mysteriously fell out and onto the floor.
“He was speaking
in a team meeting, and I forgot about this story because it was so long ago until (Amon-Ra) St. Brown brought it up this weekend at the Pro Bowl,” Goff said. “But he was speaking in a team meeting one time, and he must have a fake tooth and his tooth fell out and he kind of just picked it up off the floor, put it back in and just kept talking like nothing happened.”
The 28-year-old later joked that Campbell was in the clear because of the “five second rule.” Additionally, nobody on the team commented on the moment because of the meeting being serious in tone.
In all, the veteran quarterback has appreciated the work Campbell has put in to help revitalize the organization. As evidenced by the team’s 8-2 finish to the regular season, there’s excitement about the future.
“Yeah, he’s selling a whole lot, but he’s a helluva job doing it,” Goff said. “You know, we trust him, we believe in him. He’s a lot of fun to play for. I think our toughness, our grit is kind of what we rely on. But, you know, I think ultimately us coming together as a team has been the most important part and sticking together and trusting each other and trusting the coaches and them trusting us. It became a really good family there and something that’s continuing to grow.”
Goff was part of the 2021 team that finished 3-13-1. Due to those struggles, he admitted that the 2022 campaign felt rewarding.
“Yeah it was really fun, man. It was, it was really fun,” Goff explained. “Mostly to do it with a lot of the guys that were there and certainly the coaches, but a lot of the players that were there the year prior when things weren’t as good and to be able to come back and improve and get better and, you know, put our process in place and see the results pay off is super rewarding. So it was fun, but we’ve got a lot of work to do this offseason and continue to go in that direction.”
‘We would’ve loved our chance’ to play in postseason
Though the Lions started 1-6, they wound up missing the playoffs by one game.
As a result, Detroit was forced to watch the playoffs from the outside, even though they’d been competitive with every playoff opponent on their schedule. This led to the inevitable ‘what-if?’ questions.
Goff admitted that the team felt like they could play with anybody and wished they got their chance at the postseason.
“You never know. We would’ve loved our chance to get in the playoffs and see what would happen,” Goff claimed. “I think we proved through the second half of the season that we could play with anybody and beat anybody. So, you never know what would’ve happened. But yeah, you sit here every year if you don’t make it and look at those teams and go, ‘Man, we could have beat them, we could have done that.’ But ultimately, you’ve got to get in there and do it. So, one more game for us would have done it, and this next year coming, we’ve got to make sure we don’t start slow like we did unfortunately this season.”
Hutchinson, Sewell and the future in Detroit
Holmes has appeared to strike gold with his first two first-rounders as Lions’ GM, with the potential of a third.
Penei Sewell, the team’s 2021 first-round selection, and 2022 No. 2 overall pick Aidan Hutchinson have both paid immediate dividends. Jameson Williams, however, dealt with injuries and could emerge as a star in 2023.
Goff was asked about both Hutchinson and Sewell and provided rave reviews for both. Eisen, a Michigan graduate, was particularly interested in the performance of fellow Michigan alum Hutchinson.
“He did a great job,” the signal-caller said of Hutchinson. “And I think seeing him as a rookie come in and kind of keep his head down and just go to work and not say much until he got his time in the game, and then became able to be himself and show his personality after that. I think, ultimately, just seeing how he works every day and how much respect I have for him as a rookie to come in and act the way he did and ultimately play the way he did. It was extremely impressive. I’m really excited to see where he can take our defense next year and continue to develop as a leader.”
Sewell, meanwhile, emerged as one of the league’s top offensive tackles. Though his blocking prowess was on display all season, he made one of the year’s top plays when he caught a short pass from Goff and turned it into a game-clinching first down.
Goff explained the rationale behind the play, as well as the process of calling and executing it on game day.
“You know, I think to be honest, there wasn’t much flinch or much over excitement,” the veteran signalcaller explained. “I think there may have been a timeout after the second-down play. So, we had some time to sit there and talk about it and I’m getting on the headset, ‘Hey tell Penei, don’t go out of bounds. Secure the catch, just fall forward,’ all these coaching points. I’m relaying them to Penei, they’re telling me, ‘Just so you know, let’s do this.’ And finally, Jonah Jackson, our left guard, is like, ‘Hey man, he’s got it, leave him alone. He’s got it.’ And I’m like, ‘All right, all right.’ So, it was a good feeling, but it was fun to get Penei involved there.”
Goff was also asked about his own future in Detroit. Currently, his contract runs through the 2024 season. When posed the question, he reinforced that he’d like to be with the Lions long term.
“Yeah, man, we’ll see. I sure hope so,” Goff said. “I think this year has been fun. I’ve really enjoyed my time out there and it’s been a lot of fun for me. But, I don’t fully make those decisions. All I can do is continue to try to play well and see where it takes me, but I love it out there. It’s been a lot of fun.”