After 30 years without one, Lions fans were going to be fired up about facing any opponent in a home playoff game on Sunday night but the fact that it was the Rams made for an even more electric scene at Ford Field.
Fans booed former Lions quarterback and current Rams starter Matthew Stafford before the game and they chanted the name of current Lions starter Jared Goff. Goff was traded for Stafford and discussed the chip he still has on his shoulder about the deal in the days leading up to the game.
Goff’s chip helped fuel a strong performance. He went 22-of-27 for 227 yards and a touchdown in a 24-23 win that will give the Lions another home game against the winner of Monday night’s game between the Eagles and Buccaneers. When the game was over, Goff said the crowd’s support gave him a meaningful boost.
“It was pretty unbelievable,” Goff said, via the team’s website. “The people here are pretty special, man. I’m grateful for their support and today with the circumstances that were there it meant a lot and it was special. . . . It made me feel pretty good. It was exciting. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything like that.”
The Rams won a Super Bowl after the trade and the Lions haven’t quite gotten to that place yet, but no one in Detroit has anything but good feelings about how things are playing out on Monday morning.
