Jared Goff: Lions’ comeback win vs. Bears ‘sign of good team’
But despite a three-interception performance, the veteran quarterback still managed to lead the Detroit Lions to a nail-biting 31-26 comeback win against the NFC North rival Chicago Bears on Sunday at Ford Field.
“It’s a lot easier to play bad and win than to play bad and lose,” said Goff, who went 23-for-35, ending with 236 yards and two touchdowns. “Kind of what we did today, we played not our best ball and not my best ball for about three and a half quarters and we found a way to make it work here at the end.
“It’s the sign of a good team,” he continued. “We’re a resilient group, we’re tough, we have a lot of courage, and we don’t back down from anything.”
Detroit is 8-2 for the first time since 1962 after trailing 26-14 with 4:15 remaining in the game. According to ESPN Analytics, the Bears had a 98.2% chance to win at that point, but Goff kept his composure to lead two touchdown drives down the stretch, even while playing through light boos from fans at one point when the Lions were down.
“I get it. They’re upset, I’m upset. They can be upset and boo, that’s alright,” Goff said of the fans. “But, yeah I think the expectations for our team are higher than they’ve ever been and we want to win home games in front of our home games against division opponents. Today, we ultimately did that. We didn’t get there in a straight line, but we ultimately came out with the W.”
Goff connected with second-year receiver Jameson Williams for a 32-yard touchdown pass with 2:59 remaining while going 10-for-12 for 115 yards on Detroit’s final two drives. The Lions capped the victory with a one-yard touchdown up the middle in the final 31 seconds by running back David Montgomery, who spent his first four seasons in Chicago, followed by a two-point conversion catch by rookie tight end Sam LaPorta then a game-sealing sack which forced a fumble that resulted in a safety by edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson.
Even when they trailed by 12, Montgomery said the mood on the sideline was “we’ve got time left” and they were “still in the fight.” It marked the first win by any team this season when trailing by 10 or more points in the final four minutes. Teams were 0-83 in that scenario entering Sunday.
“It means that the guys that you have around you are willing to go to the wits’ ends to make sure that they know we’ve got each other’s back and knowing that we can win certain facets, different, multitude of facets and come out on top,” said Montgomery, who rushed for a team-high 76 yards off 12 carries. “It definitely shows a lot of resiliency with this team and we have that. I’m grateful to be a part of that.”
Lions Pro Bowl offensive lineman said that type of victory “definitely boosted up the morale” and confidence of the team going forward as they now prepare host the Green Bay Packers in their annual Thanksgiving Game on Thursday at Ford Field.
“It was kind of a flashback moment where we were in those close games, coming from behind and finally coming out on top,” Sewell said. “That kind of speaks for itself for what kind of team this is and the type of guys we’ve got in this locker room and the type of coaches.”
After the clutch victory, head coach Dan Campbell said when “the pressure went up and our heart rate leveled out like we talked about.”
For Goff, it was his first time throwing three interceptions since Week 4 against Tampa Bay in 2019, as a member of the Los Angeles Rams, but he showed up when it mattered. All three of Goff’s interceptions versus Chicago came against Cover-3 defense by the Bears, according to ESPN Analytics/NFL Next Gen Stats.
Detroit also ended with four turnovers for the first time since Week 7 last season at Dallas to win their seventh straight division game, which is the team’s longest streak since the 1970 merger.
“At the end of the game, down two scores, that’s when he’s at his best in a game where he’s not playing his best game, I think that speaks volumes,” Campbell said of Goff. “Here’s what we know about Goff, at the very least, he’s going to be mentally tough and physically tough, and you can always count on that. You can bank on that.”