What Lions Are Saying: Jared Goff 'Calmed the Waters'
Here are notable postgame quotes from Arrowhead Stadium, following the Detroit Lions' 21-20 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Dan Campbell
On the performance of quarterback Jared Goff: “All week, I thought we looked very confident, calm, and just steady. He was practicing accurate throws and I thought he played very steady today. Are there things we can clean up? Are there throws he would want back? Yeah, that comes with anything. He took care of the football. There again he got us in the right play. He calmed the waters for us, and he did what we needed to win the game today. I am proud of him for that.”
Andy Reid
On if the Chiefs were surprised Lions attempted a fake punt from inside their own 20-yard line: “No, we mentioned it to the guys. We were ready for everything -- special teams. I mentioned it to the guys. They were double the amount of fakes than anybody else in the league last year. So, they got us on it."
Patrick Mahomes
On the embarrassment of losing, especially on the night a banner was unveiled: “It’s embarrassing for me to lose anytime. Like I said, after the ring ceremony, I moved onto the next season. Obviously it’s cool for the fans to be able to see the banner and drop it at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium but this is a whole new year and I think I know that and we’re trying to win another Super Bowl and this is obviously not the way we wanted to start and so anytime I lose I’m embarrassed. So, I’m going to try to get better so I don’t lose more as the season goes on.”
Marvin Jones Jr.
On fumbling for the first time in his NFL career: "Oh yeah. You see everybody's face. Everybody's just ready to get out there. It was my first fumble. I didn't want it to happen in that fashion. I didn't want it to happen at all. We don't bat an eye. It is what it is, but we won the game."
Aidan Hutchinson
On how he made Patrick Mahomes uncomfortable: "That was the goal. I knew it was going to be hard going into today. He likes to scramble on the defensive left side. It was a difficult job. I tried my hardest. I thought we did a good job. He got out a couple of times, but we expected it. We do what we could and we're going to learn from this and move on."
C.J. Gardner-Johnson
On the level of satisfaction with the final two defensive drives: “The whole game was satisfying. We all feel like we’re overlooked. We play as a unit and everybody knows the focal point of this team is defense. It looked good, didn’t it? Real good.”
Jahmyr Gibbs
On how special the fourth quarter was, running and breaking tackles: “I think it was a big play for us in the game, to help us sustain the drive. It helped us finish the game, so it is a very proud moment for me.”
Kalif Raymond
On being able to find a way to win despite not clicking offensively: “Those are football games in the NFL and that’s what you prepared for. I think DC (Dan Campbell) did a great job of preparing us for those moments. Even when it’s like that, you know it’s a battle. I was telling Jah (Jahmyr Gibbs), we were sitting on the sideline, that you would be surprised how many of these NFL games come down to the wire, and that was in the third quarter. It was cool we were able to do that today.”
Amon-Ra St. Brown
Reaction to defeating the Chiefs: “It was fun. It went back and forth. I felt like, offensively, we could have done better out there. We had a turnover, a ball on the ground and some third downs that I wish we could have back. At the end of the day, we played together as a team, which mattered the most and at the end, when we needed to finish the game, we did.”
Jared Goff
On what is the next step for the Lions: “We just didn’t play our best ball today. We kind of got away with one in some ways, but that’s what good teams do. When you don’t play your best, but you find a way in the fourth quarter to get a stop on defense, to get a first down on offense, to make those catches that Josh (Reynolds) made and be able to score on that long drive we had. That’s what we’re starting to become now and it’s a good feeling."
