Jared Goff: 'We Win, We Got a Chance' to Make Playoffs
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After winning four of their past five games, the Detroit Lions have turned around their season.
At 1-6, critics began to question if efforts of the front office and coaching staff were resonating with the roster.
After making the necessary adjustments, both on and off the field, the team has started to meet its own expectations and those of supporters.
Far too often, the Lions have already been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention by the time the calendar has turned to December.
This season, though, the team still has a small, outside shot at earning a spot in the NFC playoffs, if the team can put together an extended winning streak.
"Everybody feels good about that. It makes it -- it brings a little extra spark to everything, certainly, when you know that you’ve got a chance," said Lions head coach Dan Campbell. "But, I think more importantly, it’s the fact that we feel like we’re playing pretty good football, because we’re doing things a certain way and the guys have gained confidence from that. And, I think that’s what exciting is knowing that where we’re at and we’re going into the next one here against a very good opponent.”
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In a sense, the team has mirrored the play of quarterback Jared Goff.
The 28-year-old started the season on a hot streak, as the offense was scoring at a prolific rate.
Detroit's veteran signal-caller, along with the defense, then struggled with maintaining consistency, miscommunication and making winning plays.
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Now that the team is healthier, the offense has started to execute at a high level again, and is among the most efficient now in the red zone.
The biggest factor that has aided the offense has been protecting the football. The defense has also been forcing turnovers on a regular basis during the hot streak, giving the offense extra possessions.
"It comes and goes, and I think there’s been times in my career where you get unlucky on some things, and there’s been times where you get lucky. And, I think I’ve done a good job taking care of the ball, and I think guys have gotten themselves open, and we’re protecting well," said Goff. "I’ve been conscious of it. I think that was an issue for us early on, that was part of why we were losing some of those games, and I was very conscious of it. And, I think it’s been part of why we’ve won a lot of these games, as well.”
When asked if he or the team had glanced at the Lions' playoff odds, Goff replied, “No. We win, we got a chance. We don’t, we probably don’t.”
