Lions Make Jared Goff Announcement After Vikings Win

The Detroit Lions did what they had to do on Sunday, January 5, to secure the top seed in the NFC and NFC North by beating the Minnesota Vikings, with a 31-9 final score. In the process, the Lions also secured the first-round playoff bye and home-field advantage for the playoffs. The Vikings, in the meantime, fell to fifth seed following the game and will have to play on the road on Monday, January 13, in the wild-card round.

After the win, the Detroit Lions made an announcement about quarterback Jared Goff, and he also spoke with reporters.

Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff: ‘It’s Not the Cherry on Top’

Goff completed 27-of-33 passing for 231 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions during the game. Those interceptions hurt, but even with the turnovers, Goff made NFL history by becoming the sole quarterback in Lions history to complete at least 72% of his passes while throwing for more than 4,500 yards, the Lions announced on social media.

It’s still not enough for Goff. “It’s not the cherry on top,” he said to reporters after the win. “Not yet.”

While touchdowns were rare for the first half of Sunday night’s game, Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs notched the first touchdown of the game, which marked his 17th of the season. In the process, he tied the single-season Detroit Lions franchise record. It didn’t stop there.

Gibbs ended up scoring three more touchdowns in the game, marking his 20th for the season and the most of any NFL player this season.

When told he had the most total touchdowns in the NFL after the game, speaking in a postgame interview, Gibbs said, “I didn’t know until two days ago I was even close.” He added that the Lions “work hard every week.”

“We’re obviously having a better season this year, and I think everybody is still counting us out a little bit, so being able to shut them up a little bit feels good,” Gibbs added.

As NFL analyst and expert Brad Berreman of SideLion Reported notes in a January 5 feature, “Not bad for someone the draft ‘experts’ instantly tabbed as a reach, even if NFL teams didn’t necessarily agree.”

Gibbs’ performance has been stellar, snagging a Pro Bowl rookie season, with more than 1,200 yards from scrimmage and 11 total touchdowns.

Lions Cornerback Terrion Arnold Injured

A few minutes into the third quarter, the Lions were slapped with another injury when rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold was taken off the field.

Not long after Arnold exited the game, the Lions announced the injury was to his foot and that he was questionable to return. On top of that, around the start of the fourth quarter, sideline reporter Melissa Stark said once again that Arnold’s status to return was questionable and also said that “he was very emotional” after the injury. Later, the Lions announced that he was out, sending a message out on X stating, “CB Terrion Arnold (Foot) has been downgraded to Out.”

Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery. The Lions already have 13 defensive players on injured reserve this week, including star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson. This injury could be the one to put the team over the edge, but thankfully, some players are getting better each week, too.