Jared Goff senses the sorrow settling over the Lions' fanbase. Amid a brutal spate of injuries, Detroit's Super Bowl dreams have been derailed. At least, that's what some believe.
While panic rises on the outside, there's no doom and gloom in Allen Park.
"I think the mood everywhere else is like the sky’s falling, but the mood internally is fine," Goff said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "I refuse, we refuse, to use any of these injuries as an excuse. We’re going to be just fine. Dan said it earlier, we got a ton of guys on defense who are going to step up and have great opportunities, and on offense we’re going to keep chugging along."
The Lions lost three huge pieces in their loss to the Bills last Sunday, with Alim McNeill (torn ACL) and David Montgomery (torn MCL) going down for the season and Carlton Davis III (fractured jaw) hitting the shelf for at least six weeks. They join a long list of injured starters that includes co-captains Aidan Hutchinson and Alex Anzalone, along with starters Derrick Barnes and Marcus Davenport.
Asked if the Lions can really overcome all the attrition, Goff said, "I'm telling you right now, we can. Don’t be depressed. We’re fine. We’re 12-2, we got three games ahead of us, we’re in good shape."
On the topic of replacing Montgomery, not merely one of the Lions' best players but one of their emotional leaders, Goff pointed to Jahmyr Gibbs and said, "He’s one of the best backs in the league. Yeah, he can handle the load. Obviously losing David hurts, but we’ll overcome it just like we’ve overcome everything else this year."
As Goff referenced, Dan Campbell took to 97.1 The Ticket Tuesday morning and delivered a passionate speech about rallying in the face of adversity. It served to shake the fans out of their despair. Goff said that Campbell speaks that way "to all of us. And he’s telling the truth."
"He’s being honest, he's being sincere, he's being genuine, and he’s right," said Goff. "If we reacted like everyone else outside of us, we’d have no chance."