Jared Goff was considered a throw-in in the blockbuster deal that sent him to the Detroit Lions and Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams.
The Rams and head coach Sean McVay seemed done with Goff after a couple of rough seasons, and decided it was time to move off of him and bring in a veteran like Stafford.
Stafford and Los Angeles would go on to win Super Bowl LVI in their first year together, though Goff and Detroit steadily built themselves up.
Goff eventually got his revenge on his former team when the Lions beat the Rams in the Wild Card Round and he later led them to a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Divisional Round.
The former No. 1 overall pick has earned the respect and love of the Detroit fanbase and was serenaded with cheers at a recent Red Wings game.
Goff compared the fans in Detroit versus Los Angeles and acknowledged they are vastly different via Eric Woodyard of ESPN.
“These fans are unbelievable,” Goff said. He also said his playoff runs in LA were ‘not like this.”
Football’s taken a backseat in L.A. given they didn’t have their own team for decades, so it makes sense why Goff wouldn’t receive the same fanfare.
However, Detroit is an entirely different animal as the sports scene has been starved for a title and Goff is in a position to lead them to one.
The Lions have been the feel-good story of the NFL all year and it’ll be exciting to see if Goff can keep their Super Bowl hopes alive this weekend.
