Jared Goff knew they were out there.
Following the Detroit Lions’ 41-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 2, Goff had a memorable description for the outside criticism beginning to surround a team that suddenly found itself 1-1.
The “vultures” were coming out.
Goff didn’t run from them. He actually said he welcomed them, explaining that adversity gives him a chance to see how teammates respond when things are not going particularly well.
Five days later, Detroit returned home and beat the New York Jets 31-24, improving to 2-1 after Chuck Clark forced a game-sealing fumble in the final minute.
So, naturally, Goff was asked whether those vultures might be a little quieter now.
“I don’t know. We’ll see.”
Two words.
And considering what Goff said only days earlier, they were pretty fitting.
Jared Goff Welcomed the ‘Vultures’ After Buffalo
Goff’s postgame answer makes more sense when viewed through the lens of what he said following Detroit’s first loss of the season.
With criticism mounting after the Lions allowed 41 points in Buffalo, Goff made it clear he wasn’t interested in panicking over one September loss. Instead, he said he actually enjoyed seeing how people reacted when Detroit stumbled.
“Yeah, I love it,” Goff said last week. “I’m excited to get back home and play in front of our fans for sure, but you love when the vultures start coming out. Guys’ character really emerges.”
Goff continued:
“And I know our guys in this locker room and you get to see those guys stand tall and be who they are and stand in the fire and take the shots and still fight right through it. And again, I say that we’re 1-1 and we lost the game by 10 points unfortunately, but we’re in a great place. We feel great and excited to get back.”
At the time, Goff’s message about the Lions’ “vultures” was less about pretending Detroit had played well and more about seeing how the locker room would respond to criticism.
He also acknowledged that players were hearing the noise, even if they weren’t necessarily searching for it themselves.
“After a long weekend, you can kind of hear a lot and I think your friends are texting, your family is texting you,” Goff said. “I’m not saying this is the case for me, but I understand how it works across the locker room. I think it’s nice to get back in the building, get back in our bubble and go back to work.”
That work produced a win Sunday.
Lions Answered, Even If It Wasn’t Pretty
Nobody should pretend Detroit’s 31-24 victory completely answered the questions that surfaced following the Buffalo loss.
The Lions led New York 24-10 before allowing the Jets to tie the game in the fourth quarter. Geno Smith threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns, and Detroit once again had difficulty preventing explosive plays.
But when the Lions needed a response, they got one.
Goff connected with Jahmyr Gibbs for an 11-yard touchdown with 2:25 remaining to give Detroit a 31-24 advantage. Then, with New York attempting to drive for a tying score, Clark blitzed up the middle, strip-sacked Smith and watched Jack Campbell recover the fumble to end the threat.
It was exactly the type of late defensive play Detroit failed to consistently produce during the first two weeks.
Goff later praised the Lions’ defense for responding, particularly after everything that unit heard following the Buffalo game.
“They rallied and did their thing all week, getting themselves ready to go,” Goff said. “You saw some of those leaders step up throughout the week and then come out and play the way they did.”
Goff Isn’t Declaring Anything After One Win
That is what makes Goff’s “We’ll see” response work.
He could have taken a victory lap. He could have suggested Detroit had silenced everyone who questioned the team after Buffalo.
He didn’t.
Last week, Goff said the Lions were going to “stand in the fire,” take the criticism and keep fighting. The idea was that adversity would reveal something about the people inside Detroit’s locker room. His comments were not a promise that every problem would disappear against the Jets.
And they didn’t.
Detroit still has defensive issues to correct. The Lions still need to find more consistency. They are three games into a long season, and Goff seems perfectly content to let the results determine whether the noise eventually disappears.
For one Sunday, at least, the Lions gave those vultures a little less to eat.
Whether they actually fly away?
As Goff put it:
“We’ll see.”
