For Jared Goff and the Lions, maybe that loss to the Bears was for the best. It re-centered the offense, which responded by scoring 42 points in a rout of the Broncos.
"It’s not the worst thing in the world to sometimes get your ass kicked a little bit like we did in Chicago," Goff said Wednesday. "It created that (urgency) and it continues on."
It also eased the fanbase, which was on the verge of panic after the Lions' second loss in three games. Their anxiety is easily understood. Their team has a history of coming up short, often in excruciating fashion. Now the Lions are one win away from winning their second division title in the Super Bowl era, their first in 30 years and their first NFC North title ever.
"I understand how special it’ll be for the city," said Goff. "Absolutely, we understand that and how long the fans have waited. But I think we have to focus on what we can control, and that’s this week right now.”
In other words, Goff and the rest of his teammates don't bear the burden the fanbase does. They might feel the pressure to seal the deal this weekend against the Vikings, but they aren't trying to shake the same tortured past.
"We don’t carry the weight of the last 30 years here, we don’t," said Goff. "It’s the 2023 Lions and we’re different than last year’s team and the year before and 30 years before that. We’re trying to make our mark this year and we have a chance to do it this week."
That's what's on the table for the Lions Sunday in Minnesota. If they knock off the defending division champs, they'll achieve the goal they set at the end of last season of winning the North. And then they can set their sights on even bigger things, like earning one of the top two seeds in the NFC and making a run in the playoffs.
But first things first.
"It would be extra special one day looking back on it," Goff said of winning the division. "Again, we have to go play well and figure out a way to do that this week, but I don’t think we’re by any means considering the magnitude of how long it’s been or that stuff.
"We’re trying to do our best on Wednesday and Thursday and Friday to find a way to win games.”