Getty Jared Goff waives before the Lions game against Cincinnati.
Detroit Lions fans have long made their frustrations known through the years, and that continues to be the case as the team remains winless through Week 6.
This season,Lions fans haven’t had a lot to boo about with the team competing hard week in and week out. For. the first time, the Lions put a bad effort on the field and were blown out 34-11 by the Cincinnati Bengals. That fact had folks fuming, and the target of their frustration was quarterback Jared Goff.
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Goff struggled in the game to the tune of just 202 yards passing and 1 interception, and made numerous mistakes on the field, from overthrown passes to bad reads. As a result, some of the boos started to rain down on Goff during the game, but to his credit, he was accountable afterward.
Speaking with the media after the loss on October 17, Goff was asked his reaction to what he heard from the fans. As he said, it was a display which was earned on the field by the team.
“I feel their frustration man. These fans here deserve a lot better than what we’ve been giving them, so it’s our job to do that, and there’s frustrated people all over right now,” Goff said honestly after the loss.
Typically, Detroit has a complicated relationship with their quarterbacks. It’s been said that manning the position is one of the toughest jobs in town along with playing goaltender for the Detroit Red Wings. Thus far, Goff has enjoyed a decent honeymoon with fans, but it’s clear that could now be coming to an end after this week.
Goff Takes Accountability for Struggles
Following the defeat, Detroit head coach Dan Campbell had some choice words for Goff, telling the media that he believed the quarterback needed to step up and put some more weight on his shoulders. For his part, Goff didn’t shy away from wanting the same thing in the weeks ahead.
“I think I can always do more,” Goff told the media. “You’re never in a position where you’re complacent and of course we’re nowhere near that, but I think I’ve got some experiences to rely on that I can relay to these guys and do my best to be the best leader I can be and continue to try to find the open guy and get him the ball and take care of the football and do my job every day.”
While some quarterbacks might pout about hearing such a realization from their coach, it’s clear Goff isn’t going to be that guy, and is going to continue to work hard to make sure he is doing everything in his power to help the team try and get over the top.
Goff Believes Maligned Lions Wideouts Doing Good
Not much went right on the afternoon for Goff, who couldn’t move the ball down the field consistently and only helped the Lions to a single touchdown in garbage time. His wideouts weren’t much better, only putting up 87 total yards on the day. The quarterback is facing an uphill battle now in terms of getting his weapons involved, and as he said, he doesn’t believe the game planning of the opposition has made things tough on him or the team. Simply, it’s a matter of better execution.
“We’ve got to find a way to get them the ball and get them open and I have to find a way to get them the ball. I don’t think defenses have done too much to make that as hard as it’s been,” Goff said.
With so may players shuffling, the Lions could be excused for using that predicament as a crutch, but Goff wasn’t going there after the game. As he said, he thinks things have gone well with the wideouts the Lions do have in the mix.
“It’s good. It’s always hard when you do have guys that are in and out. I’ve felt like it’s been good,” Goff explained. “It’s been good as it cam be with as many injuries as we’ve had especially at receiver. But KhaDarel (Hodge) is a guy I am comfortable with, I’ve got a lot of wok with Kalif (Raymond) at this point and same with (Amon-Ra) St. Brown and obviously T.J. (Hockenson) so, it’s not bad.”
Whether being booed or struggling to find targets, Goff isn’t going to shy away whatsoever from accepting responsibility and being accountable on all fronts.
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