‘He went to Jared’: Monumental play by Goff helps Lions spoil reunion for Stafford in Detroit

DETROIT – A monumental play by Jared Goff in the game’s waning moment helped the Detroit Lions advance to the divisional round but, most importantly, spoiled the reunion of Matthew Stafford in the revenge game for both quarterbacks inside Ford Field.

At the two-minute warning, the Lions had the ball on their own 30-yard line while leading the Los Angeles Rams 24-23 on second down and nine with three timeouts remaining.

With the crowd hanging onto every play as the taste of victory was in their grasp, unsuspectingly, the Lions, instead of running the ball to chew up the clock, decided to place the ball in the former Rams quarterback’s hands, where he ultimately hit 1,515-yard receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who caught seven passes for 110 yards, for 11 yards to seal the deal.

With head coach Dan Campbell at the helm, who was surprised about the gutsy call beside all of the fans in the stadium and all of One Pride, who screamed a sigh of relief as the game was all but over.

Goff spoke about the play after the game as he was unfazed by the pressure, calling it “Pitch and catch” between him and St. Brown.

“It was like every other rep we had on that play, 100 million times,” said Goff. “It was him one-on-one with the nickel, go win. It was pitch and catch, and that dude’s as good as it gets.”

Goff continued:

“I was able to put it on him. I wish I kind of knew that (play) was going to seal the game, and then I really would’ve enjoyed that moment, but I was excited we got the first down, and then I realized the game was over.”

“I’m just very proud of him,” said Campbell. “What he means to us and his play today, he’s one of the reasons that we won this division and he’s another reason why we just won our first playoff game in 30 years. What a stud.”

For the second time since 1957 and for the first time since 1991, the Lions have won a playoff game, which Goff said was kind of surreal.

“It was surreal,” Goff said. “It was kind of something you’d imagine for so long; I mean, from the moment I got here, you’d imagine getting that playoff win in front of that type of atmosphere in front of our home crowd. Being able to sit on the ball like that and to finish it out, it kind of all hit me there.”

Goff continued:

“To be honest with you, I didn’t know it was over once we got the first down until they sent in the personnel, and then it all hit me at once, but I kind of had to subdue a lot of emotions this week, and I was able to kind of enjoy that moment.”

There was an old saying going around before, during, and after Stafford’s time with Detroit, which was called the “Same Ol’ Lions” as they always found a way to lose.

But, after Sunday’s (Jan. 14) one-point victory, those teams are now buried in the past thanks to Goff, and he and his plethora of weapons snapped a nine-game postseason losing streak.

Goff, who finished the day completing 22-27 for 277 yards and one touchdown, became the fifth quarterback in National Football League postseason history to produce a game with over 275 passing yards, a completion percentage of 80%, and a passer rating of 120.0.

His lone score came on a fourth and one play to hobbled rookie tight end Sam LaPorta, who caught three passes for 14 yards and the solo score.

“That dude is a stud,” Goff said. “I told him that during the week as he battled. I don’t know if people quite know how badly he was hurting throughout the week, and to get himself ready for the game takes a lot of guts, strength, and courage, and he helped us today. He really did, and he’s a heck of a player.”

The Lions other two scores came from their dynamic duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.

Montgomery’s score came during the game’s opening possession when he capped off a 10-play 75-yard drive with a one-yard rush up the gut for six.

Gibbs, who caught four passes out of the backfield for 43 yards, carried the ball eight times for 25 yards. His lone score came on the team’s second possession of the game as he capped off a five-play 75-yard score with a 10-yard dash up the middle to go up 14-3.

His endzone celebration was reminiscent of Key and Peele’s Hingle McCringleberry, where one more pelvic thrust could’ve penalized the team.

Campbell and former Michigan Wolverines stud Aidan Hutchinson, who totaled six tackled and two sacks, chimed in on how raucous the atmosphere was inside Ford Field as they could feel the momentum before, during, and after the games.

“It was wild,” said Hutchinson. “The fans came out in what’s probably one of the most loudest stadiums I’ve been in. I mean, that first half and the end of the game was crazy, man. Detroit, they ate all of this up.”

“That is arguably the best environment that I’ve been to,” Campbell said. “That was absolutely electric, and I think what’s crazy is when I was coming down for pregame warmups, and you could hear and just feel it as the building was humming.”

Campbell continued:

“I swore you could feel the electricity down in the tunnel from where I was coming down, and it only grew from there. Our fans showed up in a big way. I thought for two years now that that building had been rocking, but it was different today. That was a whole other level, which is what the playoffs are all about. Our fans showed up in a big way. They helped us win the game.”

The fans will need to return next week in the divisional round on Sunday (Jan. 21) at 3 p.m. as the Lions will play host to the winner of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers inside Ford Field.

How did you enjoy the Lions first playoff victory of the last 32 years? How do you feel the team will fare next week? Who would you prefer to play in the divisional round? Let us know in the comment section.