Jared Goff is good enough for Detroit, as his coach recently reminded him.
Cast away by the Los Angeles Rams three years ago in a trade for Matthew Stafford, the quarterback was welcomed by the Lions and has since become a fan favorite at Ford Field, where the crowd chanted his name during a second straight home playoff triumph for the long-downtrodden franchise.
Goff threw his second touchdown pass with 6:22 left and the Lions beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23 in the divisional round on Sunday, lifting Detroit into the NFC championship for the first time in 32 years and just the second time in franchise history.
For just the second time in the Super Bowl era, the Detroit Lions will square off with the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs.
The last time was all the way back in the 1991 season.
Nonetheless, Lions quarterback Jared Goff is plenty familiar with the 49ers, and they with him.
Having become acquainted with the Niners during five seasons as the Los Angeles Rams’ quarterback, Goff has plenty of respect for San Francisco’s defenders, in particular standout linebackers Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw.
“Both those guys are really dang good,” Goff told reporters on Championship Wednesday. “I’ve been fortunate, or unfortunate enough, to be on the other side of the ball from them for quite some time. They’re really good. They’re both very smart, fast and play sideline to sideline. They’re both involved in the run game and pass game. I have a lot of respect for both of those guys.”
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The respect is mutual, as Warner lauded Goff on Wednesday. The three-time All-Pro went so far as to say he believes the Detroit version of Goff has exceeded the Los Angeles version.
“[He’s] a lot better,” Warner said on Wednesday. “Not to say that he wasn’t good when we played him back when he was with the Rams, but I think he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league right now with the way that he’s playing. I think he finished, what, top three in passing yards this season. I think, just the delivery of the football, his decisiveness, obviously with the amount of playmakers that he has on that side, I think he’s the one that’s leading that group.”
