Here is everything Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff said after his team defeated the Green Bay Packers 34-31 on Thursday.
On his fall during the handoff on the late fourth-down conversion:
"Yeah, just got tripped up there a little bit. Bad feeling when you’re a quarterback, not the first time that’s happened in my career. You try to like stretch out and give it to them, I was even probably going to flip it to him if I couldn’t hand it to him. But made it happen, make it work, and David (Montgomery) did the rest.”
On Coach Dan Campbell commenting on his athleticism:
“Yeah, real athletic to fall down on a routine handoff, but I’m glad we made it happen.”
On the aggressiveness of the team today on fourth downs:
“Yeah we came into this game knowing we were going to do it maybe a little bit more than usual. Dan (Campbell) had mentioned that early in the week that he was going to really lean on our offense to make some things happen and certainly be aggressive on fourth down if the opportunity presented itself. There at the end, I know he was kind of in between on what he wanted to do, and obviously, he made the right decision.”
On if Dan Campbell was debating fourth down decisions with the team:
“No, he was internally debating it.”
On the faith Campbell has in the offense on fourth downs:
“Bigger than anything. That’s all you want from a head coach is to believe in you and that gives us that little extra umph to want to make it happen and I’m not the one running or blocking but I’m sure those guys up front say, ‘Alright you’re giving it to us to make this game and finish this game off on our terms.’ Yeah, it means a ton.”
On what Tim Patrick means to the offense:
“Yeah, today seemed like his day down there – certainly in the red zone. He’s been so consistent since he got here as far as unselfish, blocks, does everything right and he hasn’t gotten a touchdown. What week are we in – 14, 15, whatever it is – hasn’t gotten a touchdown until today and had two of them. He deserves it man, he’s a stud and I’m so happy he’s on our team.”
On why this game stands out as one to remember:
“Yeah, circumstances around it I think – it’s a division game, it’s at home, it’s primetime. He told us early in the week he was going to lean on the offense – kind of challenged the offense really early in the week, challenged myself, challenged the guys on offense like, ‘Hey it’s your turn to hold your weight, and carry the load and make this thing happen and make this thing go.’ For me, that’s like the greatest feeling ever, you’re like, ‘Let’s effing go and let’s make this thing happen.’ Ultimately we got the win and we played pretty well on offense.”
On if the team assumes they are going for it on every fourth down:
“No, I think he obviously plays that line of what he wants to do. But certainly we’re aggressive and that’s kind of been our thing for a couple of years and I think it does change the ways teams have to prepare. They have to prepare for fourth down and fourth-and-short and have ideas of what they want to do. I think he’s done a really good job of deciding when to go and when not to go. Certainly, because it worked everyone is going to say, you guys are going to say, ‘Great call,’ and if it didn’t work you guys would be crushing him. That’s the game he plays and that’s why he’s the guy with the big stones and we trust him.”
On how the intensity of this rivalry has evolved over the last few years:
“Yeah, I think – Listen, they’re a great team, they are, they’re a tough team, they’re a really tough defense, and they’re a really tough offense, they’re really well coached, they got a lot of good players. I think in the last two years, we’ve been able to beat them a handful of times in a row. That doesn’t mean that we have some sort of magic over them – we’ve just been able to handle it and I think that they’re probably frustrated about it, and that’s OK. We want to try to keep beating them – you tip your cap, they’re a good team and so are we. I’m glad these games have been very close and very entertaining, and I’m glad we won them.”
On what it means to clinch a playoff spot:
“Yeah, I just heard that – pretty cool. Certainly not what our ultimate goal is, we want to win this division and got some work to do still. But yeah cool to know that we’re in the dance and want to see where we’re seeded now.”
On the versatility of the offense’s receivers:
“Yeah, we have a lot of guys we can throw to. We got three tight ends I feel comfortable throwing to, we got three or four or five receivers when all healthy that I feel comfortable throwing to, two running backs, which is rare, that I feel comfortable throwing to. Yeah, it was a good day today to spread that ball around. Again, we knew we were going to be a little bit aggressive offensively and it worked.”
On the blocking by running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs:
“Yeah, I think those guys take pride in it and (Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs Coach) Scottie (Montgomery) their coach takes a lot of pride in it. When you have running backs that care that much about protecting me and wanting to make sure that I’m taken care of back there it means the world. Those guys are studs, I can’t say enough good things about them and I’m happy they’re on our team.”
On the defensive performance (unprompted):
“I got to talk about the defense real quick. What our defense did this week is tremendous and I know the points – whatever, they had guys out there that got here on Sunday that were playing and doing a hell of a job. Credit (Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG, credit that staff over there, and credit those freaking players for playing their tails off today. They went out there, they let it hang and played hard ball, and made it hard on them – it was fun to watch.”
