Four downs: Goff leads the Lions past the Rams in the playoffs.

QB1 was the first to go down.

By defeating his former team and leading Detroit to its first postseason victory in thirty years, Jared Goff eliminated any last vestige of doubt. For the foreseeable future, he will continue to be the quarterback for the Lions.

He had to contend with the Los Angeles Rams, who selected him first overall and passed on him in favor of Matthew Stafford, for the entire week. With the manner in which he performed to lead the Lions to a 24-23 victory, it is clear that Goff is Detroit’s quarterback.

But it already appeared that way when the 66,367 fans at Ford Field yelled Goff’s name as he ran onto the field prior to kickoff. The only name I can recall hearing at Ford Field from the Ford Field crowd in my fifteen years covering the Lions is Barry Sanders. It appeared as though the Lions supporters fully supported Goff and understood the significance of a victory for him.

“It was just astounding,” Goff remarked following the match. “Dude, these folks are very unique. Given the circumstances, their support meant a lot and made today more memorable. I appreciate it.”

Goff claimed he had never experienced such an atmosphere in a stadium.

“I felt very happy about it. It was thrilling,” he remarked. “I don’t believe I’ve ever had an experience like that.”

Goff completed with a 121.8 passer rating, 22-of-27 passing for 277 yards, and a score. He also had no turnovers. After the two-minute warning, he found his favorite target, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, for an 11-yard gain to seal the victory for Detroit. From there, the Lions converted three kneel-downs to win their first postseason game since 1991.

“I felt he played top-notch football,” Goff’s coach at the Lions, Dan Campbell, said. “He made maybe two mistakes, but other than that, everything was spot on. He appeared carefree. He appeared at ease. He threw the ball, in my opinion, with conviction. had strength in the pocket. He thought that he had us in the right place the entire week.

“He spent the entire week cooped up. He means so much to us, and I’m incredibly proud of him. His current play. We recently won our first playoff game in thirty years, and he’s one of the reasons we won this division.”

Red-zone defense is the second down.

On Sunday, Detroit’s defense wasn’t playing well all the time. Puka Nacua of the Rams caught nine catches for 181 yards and a touchdown; the Lions allowed 425 yards of total offense.

However, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and the Lions defense were able to make a significant difference in the red zone when it mattered most.

The Lions’ red zone defense was 29th coming into Sunday, meaning that opponents were able to score a touchdown within Detroit’s 20-yard line 66% of the time.

The three times the Rams moved into Detroit’s red zone, the defense held up to force a field goal at the 11, 9, and 6 yard lines. In the end, the Rams lost by one point since they failed to score 12 points.

Regarding the Lions’ 3-for-3 performance in the red zone and the Rams’ 0-for-3 performance, Campbell stated, “That was the difference.” “Today, we planned to cause some trouble. We intended to be combative. Even though it wasn’t ideal, we realized that we had to restrict the points and prevent them from entering the end zone. That’s what we did. We needed a break, so we discussed it at halftime.”

Detroit’s defense forced two punts and allowed just two field goals to help seal the victory after allowing a field goal and two long touchdown passes on the Rams’ opening three drives of the game. For Detroit’s defense in the red zone, defensive backs Brian Branch, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Aidan Hutchinson, among others, made significant plays at pivotal times.

Third down: The winner is St. Brown.

Goff claimed the play the two had run hundreds of times was the 11-yard pass to St. Brown that sealed the game for Detroit and set up three kneel-downs by Goff that sent the Lions to their first divisional round playoff appearance since 1991.

“It felt exactly like every other repetition we’ve ever had of that particular play,” Goff remarked. It was pitch and catch, and it was him against the nickel to move ahead. That guy is the best of the best.”

St. Brown grabbed seven of the nine passes thrown his way for 110 yards (15.7 average). With 10 games and 100 receiving yards during the season, he topped the NFL. This week, he was chosen an All-Pro, further solidifying his place among the league’s top receivers.

Fourth down: THE ATMOSPHERE AT FORD FIELD

The chance to watch postseason football as a Detroit Lions fan has long been anticipated, and on Sunday, they showed up in force. An hour before kickoff, the Lions supporters crowded the stadium, providing Ford Field with a fantastic home-field edge.

Due to crowd noise, the Rams were forced to use two timeouts in the second half in order to avoid being penalized for a delay of game, which ultimately allowed Detroit to run out the clock.

Campbell remarked, “I think that’s the nicest setting I’ve ever been in.” “That was really electrifying. It was absurd. You could feel it humming as I made my way down for the pregame warm-up. The structure was buzzing. I think you could feel the electricity coming down the tunnel from where I was coming down. From there, it grew very slightly. Our supporters turned out in force.”