Lions' Jared Goff Calls Out Detroit Media, Says They 'Relish in Negativity at Times'

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff expressed his belief this week that the Detroit media has a penchant for being overly negative.

Speaking on Willbo's Trading Cards podcast (h/t ESPN.com), Goff suggested that the Detroit media tends to put a more negative spin on things than it needs to at times:

"I have this like, I probably need to drop it pretty soon here because I'm hopefully gonna be in Detroit for a long time, but I have this thing with our local media where like they almost like relish in negativity at times. And maybe that's what gets clicks and that's what sells, but it's no longer what they need to live in.

"Like, hey guys, we have a good team. We've had success. We can be happy about that, we can celebrate that and not have to write about how we're constantly the underdog. No, teams are gonna be gunning for us now. We won the division and all that. I'm probably overthinking it in my head and it's the chip on my shoulder and the competitor in me."

Goff, 29, is preparing to start his fourth seasons with the Lions organization, and he has seen the team take huge strides during his tenure.

Detroit went from a 3-13-1 record in 2021 to barely missing the playoffs in 2022 at 9-8 to winning the NFC North and reaching the NFC Championship Game with a 12-5 record last season.

It marked the Lions' first division win since 1993 and first trip to the NFC Championship Game since 1991, so it is perhaps ingrained in the Detroit media to expect disappointment.

However, the Lions had one of the deepest and most talented teams in the NFC last season, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Goff threw for 4,575 yards and 30 touchdowns, running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for nearly 2,000 rushing yards, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was a First Team All-Pro with 119 receptions for 1,515 yards and 10 touchdowns and rookie tight end Sam LaPorta was a Pro Bowler with 889 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Despite that, Goff recalled a reporter asking him about the Lions having a talent deficiency in comparison to the San Francisco 49ers prior to the NFC Championship Game:

"I wasn't trying to be rude to the guy, I was just like that's our own beat reporter that's been with us for three years. You haven't been in San Francisco. You know what our team looks like. Why do we gotta talk about how good their players are? Talk about how good our players are. That's like how I felt.

"Are we like privileged to play this game because they have a bunch of good players? Like is that what you're saying? So, I was like 'OK St. Brown was First Team All-Pro. [Offensive tackle] Penei Sewell was first-team All-Pro. [Center] Frank Ragnow. Like, Sam LaPorta. You want me to keep going? I know they have a lot of good players. So do we. I know they are really good. So are we."

Detroit ultimately fell 34-31 to San Francisco, but the Lions had a 24-7 lead a one point and came agonizingly close to their first Super Bowl appearance.

Even though their season didn't end as they hoped, all the pieces are in place for the Lions to go on another deep run in 2024, and they are perhaps the biggest threat to the 49ers' hopes of a second straight trip to the Super Bowl.