Goff on 3-1 Lions: Feel like we can beat anyone

Eric Woodyard, ESPNSep 29, 2023, 01:41 AM ET
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GREEN BAY, Wis. — Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff wasn’t overly excited after exiting Lambeau Field with a 34-20 win over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night.

“It’s what we expect to do,” he said. “We have a good team.”

But having confidence in the Lions franchise, after witnessing years of defeat, is still taking some time for people to adjust to. Goff isn’t one of those people, and neither are his teammates.

“Send us anywhere and we’ll be ready,” said Goff, who passed for 201 yards with a touchdown and interception. “And that’s the way we’re built.”

Through Week 4, the Lions are 3-1, with two of those wins coming on iconic stages: Lambeau and Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium in the season opener.

Goff is 5-1 in his career against the Packers. Now in his third season in Detroit, he has led the Lions to six consecutive victories against NFC North division opponents, tying their longest streak in the Super Bowl Era (1995 and 1983).

“We have that confidence,” he said. “Like I said, send us anywhere. Line us up against anyone, and we feel like we can go in there and beat them, and that’s a good feeling to have. Is it always gonna happen? I don’t know, but we feel like we can. We have that confidence in ourselves, in our coaches and each other. We’re working together really well right now.”

From 1971-2014, the Lions were 5-27-1 at Lambeau Field, including the playoffs, but with their latest victory, the Lions are 5-4 at Lambeau Field since 2015.

When asked if the Lions are now the team to beat in the North, Packers quarterback Jordan Love said, “Yeah, for sure.”

“Credit to them, they played really good tonight,” Love said. “I think it was us and them going into this game, but obviously we haven’t played the Vikings yet. But every time we play a North opponent, it’s a huge game going forward to the end of the year. But yeah, it’s a game that we’ll be looking forward to next time we play them. Gotta go just be better, go win.”

Goff credited the recent changing of the tide to the players around him and their hunger to keep improving.

By halftime Thursday night, the Lions held a 24-point lead, tied for their largest lead on the road in any game in franchise history. Even when the Packers trimmed the deficit to 10 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Lions were able to seal the win with a late touchdown by running back David Montgomery and a second interception by cornerback Jerry Jacobs.

“We definitely keep the horse binders on,” said Montgomery, who rushed for 121 yards and three touchdowns. “Like, we’re not big on listening to everything or everybody else around us. It’s us in the building, and we’re out to prove ourselves right.”

He added: “We’re not trying to prove nobody wrong, we’re trying to be the best versions of ourselves that we can be every day, and we know if we all come to play the way that we play and we play together, the sky is the limit for us. We believe that.”

The Lions moved into first place in the NFC North as they look to win the division for the first time since 1993, when it was the NFC Central.

Head coach Dan Campbell said he is reminding his players that they still have a lot of football left.

“Look we have our own standards, our own goals of what we want to do and certainly one of those is winning the division. You have to win your division games, and if you can get them on the road that goes a long way,” Campbell said. “So, we knew that and this is important. It’s not the end all be all, but it is important.

“So to be able to get a division win, it is also a conference win, that’s two wins in a row. Puts us 3-1 at the quarter. I am really, really happy with where we are at. I’m proud of the guys, the staff, everybody. I mean that was outstanding. You know, to be able to snap back on a short week with that type of performance was really good.”

ESPN’s Rob Demovsky contributed to this report.