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Eric Woodyard, ESPN
DETROIT — Loud chants of “Ja-red GOFF!” roared throughout Ford Field from the second the Detroit Lions spurted out of the tunnel ahead of Sunday’s NFC wild-card showdown.
Matched up against his former Los Angeles Rams team and Matthew Stafford — the player he was traded for in 2021 — Goff got his revenge in leading the Lions to their first playoff victory in 32 years and nine days.
“I kind of had to subdue a lot of emotions this week and was able to kind of enjoy that moment,” Goff said after the 24-23 victorywhich ended the NFL’s longest active drought without a playoff win.
The home chants were the icing on the cake, as Goff said he had never “experienced anything like that.”
“I’m grateful for their support and today with the circumstances that were there, it meant a lot,” Goff said. “It was special.”
Goff threw for 277 yards on 22-for-27 passing with a touchdown and no interceptions while becoming just the fourth Lions QB since 1950 to win a playoff game, joining Bobby Layne (3), Tobin Rote (2) and Erik Kramer (1).
Though Stafford remains Detroit’s all-time leader in passing yards, he went 0-3 in the playoffs with the Lions and lost his first playoff game with the Rams on Sunday, despite throwing for 367 yards and 2 touchdowns in his return to Ford Field.
After the game, Stafford congratulated Goff on the win as some fans, moved to tears in the stands, looked on.
“He’s their quarterback. He’s playing great. He led them to a win today. I’m happy for him,” Stafford said. “I thought he played excellent today. He’s leading an offense that’s playing at a really good clip right now and they should be proud of him. They should be cheering for him.”
“I told him after the game how much respect I’ve got for him and how great of a player he is,” Goff said of Stafford. “He’s a hell of a player. He’s one of my favorites to watch around the league, and yeah, have got a hell of a lot of respect for him.”
Inside the Lions locker room, teammates were happy for Goff. All week, they listened to the storylines. They had witnessed Goff push through a 3-13-1 finish in 2021 before going 9-8 in 2022, to now leading Detroit to its first playoff win in over three decades.
“Just can’t say enough good things about him. I feel like it just confirms for everybody what we already know,” Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker said. “He’s a special player and we wouldn’t be where we’re at without him. That being said, this game was about a lot more than that, to me, to the city, it was about us. Of course, Jared plays a big part in that. This is about Detroit, it’s about us and what we’ve built here.”
Entering the matchup, Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was among those who said he wanted to win it for Goff against his former team, and the duo helped ice the game on an 11-yard throw for a first down with under 2 minutes remaining.
“I’m happy for him. I know how much this game meant for him, but besides him, for the team, for the city,” said St. Brown, who finished with 7 receptions for 110 yards. “It was a big game, but I’m happy for him.”
Three different Lions players scored a touchdown (David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta) as a plethora of former players and celebrities such as Eminem, Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson and Big Sean were in attendance to cheer on the Lions in their first-ever postseason game at Ford Field, which opened in 2002.
With the win, the Lions are now guaranteed to host the Philadelphia Eagles or Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the next round, marking the first time in franchise history they’ve hosted multiple playoff games in a single postseason.
Goff described Detroit as “the best home atmosphere that I’ve ever played in front of.”
“He just was locked in all week,” said Lions coach Dan Campbell. “He’s really been that way for six weeks now, where you really feel like ‘whew, he’s really honed in here.’
“Just really proud of him and what he means to us and his play today. … He’s one of the reasons that we’ve won this division and he’s another reason why we just won our first playoff game here in 30 years, so what a stud.”
