The Lions will play a playoff game Sunday night. C.J. Gardner-Johnson won't, not in his mind: "A playoff game is not a playoff game. The Super Bowl is a playoff game. That make sense?"
The way Gardner-Johnson sees it, the Lions didn't bring him here for games like Sunday, when they'll try to slow down Matthew Stafford and the Rams inside a madhouse at Ford Field in search of their first playoff win in more than 30 years.
"They brought me here to win a Super Bowl," he said. "They didn't bring me here to make the fu*king playoffs."
Gardner-Johnson spoke on Thursday, if you hadn't heard. And as usual, he had a lot to say, about the Lions' matchup with the Rams, the pressure of the ... playoffs and whether the young, inexperienced defensive backs around him are ready to rise to the challenge. While he might not consider a playoff game a playoff game, Gardner-Johnson has played in six of them, including last year's Super Bowl.
"Being a playoff vet, I'm just here to let you guys know this sh*t is not going to be easy," he said. "Atmosphere is different, air is thicker, fans are a little bit louder. Got to win."
Or go home. And after spending most of this season at home rehabbing a torn pec and cutting his recovery in half to get back in time for the playoffs, Gardner-Johnson intends to stick around. He scoffed when asked about his game-sealing interception in his return to the lineup last week and said, "I'm ready to get this championship. I'm trying to hang two more banners. Fu*k interceptions. I got enough of them."
"Players can be great, but you gotta be great in the moment and the moment is playoff time," he said. "You can break all the stats you can, from our guys to their guys, but this is a whole new season. That sh*t don’t matter."
The Rams have one record-breaking receiver in Puka Nacua, who just racked up the most catches and receiving yards by a rookie in NFL history. And they have darn-near another in Cooper Kupp, who came within a few catches of Michael Thomas and a handful of yards of Calvin Johnson for those single-season records two years ago. And they have a talented quarterback in Matthew Stafford who's lethal when he has time to get his guys the ball.
The Rams have extra artillery in Tutu Atwell and Demarcus Robinson, to say nothing of Pro Bowl rookie running back Kyren Williams. Question is, do the Lions have the secondary to match up? As Gardner-Johnson said himself, "this group is one of the better groups we done faced all year, besides that Tampa group."
"If you give that Tampa group a good quarterback, that’s a good group — (Mike) Evans, (Chris) Godwin, (Russell) Gage, that’s a great group, I played against ‘em for a year. (Kupp and Nacua) probably right rank there as one of the best groups, (as a) combo, with the running back. That’s hard. 1-2 punch with the running back, it’s going to give us a run for our money," said Gardner-Johnson. "Gotta be smarter than we normally are and be more quick and decisive with the calls."
Apologies to Baker Mayfield, but we digress. Point is, Detroit's defense will have its hands full Sunday night, especially in the backend. The Lions have plenty of talent at safety between Gardner-Johnson, Kerby Joseph and Iffy Melifonwu, and a playmaker at nickel in Brian Branch, but questions marks on the outside where Stafford does most of his damage.
"Playoffs are won or lost by tackling and it’s decided by the backend," said Gardner-Johnson. "How many times you see blown coverages in the playoffs, before you see a missed stunt up front? It’s all about tackling and coverage."
Gardner-Johnson wouldn't have it any other way, of course. He relishes the chance to shine in the spotlight.
"But it’s gotta feed into the other backs," he said. "I can accept the challenge, but everybody's gotta be able to accept it with me, and I think they are. My teammates are ready. Seeing this group that’s never been to the playoffs before, I think they’re ready for this week."
How can he tell?
"It’s their hunger, the way they prepare. I ain’t never seen a group of young guys prepare this hard. Their piss is hot. I don’t know what’s gotten into ‘em, but they ready to play," he smiled.
The Lions will play a playoff game Sunday night. Whatever he wants to call it, Gardner-Johnson will be there, setting the tone for a defense that needs him and leading the way for a team that brought him here, indeed, for games like this.
"The horse is already running, so you can't fall behind," he said. "You gotta come out ready to play, or you can go home at (midnight), plan your vacation. This is not a game where you want to start off slow. We know who we are, our identity will show."