When he speaks publicly, Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff typicallly either gives cliche-driven, milquetoast answers (as generally expected) or he says something that is not quite believeable in the context of an upcoming opponent. That isn't meant as harsh criticism, but it'd be nice if the fire that surely burns below the surface came out a little more often.
Goff has said he generally avoids public sentiment, good or bad, about himself or the team. But it will come to his attention sometimes, as expected given the constant connectedness of today's world.
The Lions' Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Goff's former team of course, has put their playoff chances on the ropes. Winning out from here will practically be required to make the postseason, barring some significant help, starting with getting back on track in Week 16 at home against Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Goff made his regular weekly apppearance on 97.1 The Ticket's "Karsch and Anderson" Tuesday. He was eventually told about fan sentiment, most directly via callers to the station the day after the loss to the Rams, suggesting it's just not going to happen for the Lions this season and they'll miss the playoffs for the first time since 2022.
"That's awesome", Goff said, in the midst of being told about that negative sentiment, to those fans. "Thank you, guys."
When asked what he would say to those doubters to reinstil their faith, Goff turned a little defiant.
"I don't need to reinstill faith in anyone. It pisses me off a little bit to hear that. But yeah, you know, we got to win this first one. Pittsburgh at home. We'll have it in front of our home fans. And yeah, it'll be great. Go out there and get that W, and hopefully prove a lot of our people wrong."
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When asked about his confidence in the team's ability to get that done, Goff went back toward cliche-mode.
"Win the first one. Absolutely. We can get this one done, and go beat Pittsburgh and then go from there."
Goff's ire toward Lions' fans feels a little misdirected, given the entirety of the circumstances and the team's up-and-down performance putting them in their current spot. But it was also nice to hear him break out of positivity-driven, cliche-mode and get a little fiery when told about the sentiment that is out there regarding the Lions.
Not that Goff needs any extra motivation, but a section of Lions fans who have felt compelled to call into the team's flagship station may have just given him some.