Lions’ Dan Campbell Speaks Out on Ford Field Atmosphere, Jared Goff After Playoff Win

Getty Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell sounded off on Lions fans and quarterback Jared Goff after the team's playoff win.

Members of the Detroit Lions organization, including Team President Rod Wood, called for Lions fans to make Ford Field loud during the team’s first home playoff game in 30 years.

Lions fans delivered, and then the team delivered, especially quarterback Jared Goff. The Lions defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 24-23, to advanced to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs for the first time since January 1992.

After the victory, which ended a 9-game losing streak for Detroit in the Wild Card round, Lions head coach Dan Campbell couldn’t have been more complimentary of the Ford Field crowd and Goff.

“That is arguably the best environment that I’ve ever been in. That was absolutely electric,” Campbell told reporters. “For two years now, that building has been rocking. It was different today. That was a whole another level, which is what the playoffs are all about.

“Our fans showed up in a big way. They helped us win this game.”

Goff’s play certainly helped too. The 29-year-old signal caller averaged 10.3 yards per pass, completing 22 of his 27 attempts for 277 yards with a touchdown.

“Just really proud of him and what he means to us and his play today,” Campbell said of Goff. “I’ll bring it back again. He’s one of the reasons we won this division, and he’s another reason why we just won our first playoff game in 30 years.

“What a stud.”

Lions’ Dan Campbell Calls QB Jared Goff ‘Locked In’

Some NFL pundits questioned whether Goff could feel too much pressure or would be too amped for the team’s playoff matchup. After all, the Lions were facing his former team, who cast him aside for a different quarterback and gave up multiple first-round picks to do so.

But Goff was on point, completing 10 straight passes to begin the game. He also led the Lions to touchdowns on each of their first 3 possessions.

“I thought he played top-notch football. He probably had two errors, and everything else, I thought he was on point,” Campbell told reporters. “He looked loose, he looked relaxed. I thought he threw the ball with conviction. Strong in the pocket. Got us in the right play, and he felt that way all week. He was just locked in all week.”

Campbell also shared that he wasn’t surprised that Goff’s play wasn’t bothered by the media frenzy from him playing against the Rams in a playoff contest.

Goff’s demeanor didn’t even waiver when the Ford Field crowd chanted his name before kickoff.

“He’s played plenty of football. He’s been in all different types of environments. I think, if anything, [the chants] probably felt a little special when you hear it every once in a while,” Campbell said. “I wouldn’t think that would make him tight. If anything, it probably gave him a little boost.

“He’s steady. He’s reliable. He makes plays when you need him and the guys love him. They respect him.”

Goff and the Lions essentially put the game away with an 11-yard completion to receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown just after the 2-minute warning of the fourth quarter.

The conservative approach would have been to run the ball on second-and-9 and then likely punt after another run on third down. In that situation, the Rams would have had the ball deep in their own territory with about 1 minute remaining and no timeouts.

Instead, Goff’s completion to St. Brown meant the Rams wouldn’t get the ball back at all.

Campbell Tries to Put Ford Field Atmosphere Into Words

The only thing that Campbell may have been more fired up about during his postseason press conference than Goff was Lions fans.

Campbell used words such as “humming” and “electricity” to convey the crowd’s impact on the playoff matchup. The Lions head coach said Ford Field even felt that way an hour before the game.

“What’s crazy is, I was coming down for pregame warmup, and you could just feel it,” Campbell said. “It was humming. The building was humming. And I swear you could feel the electricity down the tunnel from where I was coming down, and it only just grew from there. Our fans showed up in a big way.”

Next week, Lions fans will have another opportunity to show up for the team. The Lions will either host the Philadelphia Eagles or Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL Divisional round on January 21.