Lions QB Jared Goff ready to roll against Chiefs in NFL opener

Streak of 324 passes without an INT on the line

ALLEN PARK — Jared Goff didn’t hesitate when he was asked if he’s enjoying life as he heads into his third season with the Detroit Lions.

“Yeah, it’s fun. It’s fun being here in the city with all this excitement and with that being said, it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t win and I think we all know that, I know that,’’ Goff said. “I’ve been on winning teams. I’ve been on losing teams. People will continue to be excited, if we continue to win. So, that’s kind of the fix to everything and winning fixes everything, as they say.’’

The fun starts on Thursday when the Lions play at the Kansas City Chiefs, the Super Bowl champs, at Arrowhead Stadium. It’s the only NFL stadium that Goff has not played in and he cannot wait.

Goff and the Lions finished last season winning 8 of their last 10 games.

The quarterback did not throw an interception in the last nine games. He’s thrown 324 passes without a pick. It’s an impressive and hefty number. 

Eventually that streak will snap – maybe against the Chiefs — maybe later. And coach Dan Campbell understands that.

“He’s very much a piece of the puzzle here. He’s not – it’s not the end-all be-all. ‘We don’t need you to be a Hall of Fame quarterback out there. We just need you to run the offense, be efficient, make the throws that are there, be accurate when you pass,’ – because that’s what he does well. Get us into the right play, that’s all you’ve got to do,” Campbell said.

“And so with that, ‘Hey, cut it loose.’ We don’t really talk in terms of, ‘Be smart, be smart,’ because I think you do – man, you can create a little fear if you’re not careful. So, for us, it’s, ‘Hey, the play’s there, you know what to do, we’ve repped it out here, now cut it loose. Play football,’’’ the coach added.

It will be Goff’s second straight season running coordinator Ben Johnson’s offense which finished fifth in the NFL overall in 2022.

The framework is set but the offensive continuously evolves.

“Ben’s always got ideas. Some of them he pulls from his time in Miami, some of them he gets from other coaches, some of them it’s from Dan (Campbell) and his time in New Orleans,’’ Goff said. “It all kind of comes from various different places, as well as I don’t think we’re above stealing from other teams, so it’s kind of how this League goes and I think he’s one of the most creative guys in the League.’’

Plus they have new key pieces in running backs David Montgomery (a veteran) and rookie Jahmyr Gibbs, plus rookie tight end Sam LaPorta and veteran wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr., who is making his return to Detroit.

“So just making sure I’ve gotten enough work with them, as we have through training camp and feeling good with them and Dan’s done a good job putting us in practice situations that simulate game-speed and game-atmosphere and coming to the sidelines, sitting down, coming back on, so we’ve done a lot of that. So, we feel great. Yeah, we feel comfortable,’’ Goff said.

The offense does bring back key components in wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kalif Raymond and Josh Reynolds along with tight end Brock Wright and the front five.

The talent is there, no question. Ben Johnson has continued to grow as a coordinator too. No wonder Goff wears a big smile on his face.

“Excited to get back and hopefully continue what we were doing. It doesn’t happen – there isn’t some magic pill where we can take it and then we just keep rolling on the same hot streak we were on there at the end of the year,’’ Goff said. “So, it’s going to take a lot of work and getting on the same page through this week … I think it’s a League of runs. You get on winning streaks. You get on losing streaks and finding your way on a winning streak is the hard part and that’s something that we’re up for the challenge for.”

Lions GM Brad Holmes, coach Dan Campbell embrace high expectations

ALLEN PARK — Lions GM Brad Holmes’ expectations are “very high” that the Detroit Lions can win the NFC North this season.

He is not alone. All of a sudden the Lions are NFL darlings. The hype train has been rolling for months.

They will get their first test — a huge one — when they open the season on Thursday at the Kansas City Chiefs, the Super Bowl champs.

“I do think that we took our medicine in the past couple years. Me and Dan (Campbell) talk about it all the time,’’ Holmes said on Friday. “We’ve coached the Senior Bowl, we’ve done ‘Hard Knocks,’ we’ve done all of that. We’ve got through a lot of darkness to get to this point.

“That’s where the grit comes in place in terms of just not really wavering, put your head down or get discouraged. We put the focus on building the best roster we can,’’ Holmes added.

Last season ended on a good note when the Lions won eight of the last 10 to finish 9-8 and out of the playoffs. Then throw in a good draft and a few key free agent signings and the Lions look like possible contenders.

Holmes said the hype was a little surprising since they didn’t make the playoffs last year.

“I love how we ended the season, but I didn’t think it would lead to this magnitude. But regardless of how much positive news is coming out we’ll still keep the same mindset,’’ Holmes said. “We’ll always be the hunters.’’

Holmes explained he wasn’t just looking for the most talent but he and Campbell have a vision of the type of player they want.

“It starts with football players first. What’s a football player? Smart, passionate, instinctive, relentless, tough, gritty. We have football players with talent,’’ Holmes said. 

There’s that word grit again. Last year’s second half was all about toughness, resilience and, yes, grit.

“We won’t sacrifice our identity for anything. I think we’re a pretty resilient group. That’s where I believe it all starts,’’ coach Dan Campbell said on Friday. “For us and for anybody that’s been around this game. Look, we’re going to hit some hard times, it’s the teams that can come out of that the other way and they can come out the other end unscathed and I think that’s what this roster is built for.’’

Holmes said they are not afraid of the expectations.

“The expectations are earned through what we’ve built and what we’ve done up to this point in terms of how we finished the end of the season and our player acquisition process,’’ Holmes said. “Now we just have to prove them right.’’

Lions rookie S Brian Branch turns thoughts to Mahomes, K.C. Chiefs

ALLEN PARK — While the final preseason game is Friday at Carolina, forgive the Detroit Lions if they’re overlooking that game. Of course, it’s key for evaluations and could help determine who earns a roster spot.

Still the clock is ticking until the regular season opener at the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday, Sept. 7.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the gang are coming off a Super Bowl season, their second in four years. The Lions haven’t won a playoff game since 1993 – but that was the old Lions. This talented new bunch is looking to make a statement.

“I’ve been thinking about Mahomes since last week. I think I’m going to start watching film on them this week, just to see what their tendencies are,’’ rookie safety Brian Branch said on Wednesday. “They’ve got a great quarterback, we also go against a great quarterback here (Jared Goff(. I feel he’s prepared us, we’ll see.’’

Branch,  second-round pick out of Alabama, feels he’s improved and learned much since the start of training camp and the OTAs. He had an interception on Wednesday, the last day of training camp. During Tuesday’s full contact inter squad practice he made a handful of huge plays.

Branch said playing for the Crimson Tide helped prepare him for the NFL.

“Alabama has prepared me tremendously. Being at a school like that you’re not necessarily a pro but a ‘baby pro’ in a way you have to learn to do things on your own when coaches aren’t around,’’ Branch said. “Being used to that, I feel like it’s helped me take this to the next level.’’

Explosive running back Jahmyr Gibbs, his former teammate at Alabama, could give the Chiefs’ defense a few problems.

“Jahmyr is my dog. The stuff you are just now seeing I’ve been seeing at Alabama,’’ Branch said. “It’s not new to me, I know what he’s capable of doing. I expect big things from Jahmyr.’’

UP NEXT: The Lions play their final preseason game at the Carolina Panthers at 8 p.m. on Friday. Final roster cuts are due at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 29.