Here is everything Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff said, after the team earned their third victory of the 2026 NFL season by defeating the Arizona Cardinals 45-21.
The veteran signal-caller and Russell Wilson are now the only quarterbacks in NFL history to toss for 12 or more touchdowns and no interceptions, through the first five games of any season.
Against the Cardinals, Goff threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns. He added a rushing touchdown as well in the blowout victory.
On the aggressive approach to the game on both sides of the ball
“I think that’s kind of a part of our identity. It certainly has been in the success that we’ve had over the years. When we’re able to lean on teams and make them uncomfortable in situations that we’re comfortable with in some of these fourth downs and some of the stuff they’re doing defensively on third downs, it is the way we want to play. It is the way we want to be dominant and in control.”
Whether he felt the aggressive approach was necessary today
“I'm sure Dan (Campbell) may have, I think it worked so I would say I’m glad we did a lot of it. I don’t think it had anything to do with them. I think it's just we wanted to kind of get back to who we are and early on there, certainly we were sputtering. You've got to give kudos to our defense for holding us down there those first three drives and keeping us in it and not allowing that game to get out of hand. Then I think we scored seven drives in a row. We had a good day.”
Significance of the fourth-down conversion by TE Sam LaPorta
“I thought Sam was the catalyst today for everything. He really was. He had the fourth-down conversion on the in-cut which wasn’t a great throw and he made a great catch. Then he had the fourth down, fourth-and-one touchdown. Then he had a number of other catches — the third down and long that I checked down to him that he went and I think he got us into fourth and one, which we then scored on. Those three plays alone changed the entire landscape of the game and he's a hell of a player and I'm happy he's on our side. ”
On the play of running back Jahmyr Gibbs
“There are a lot of comparisons there, but he’s unbelievable. He really is. We did a good job in the run game, and still probably didn’t do as well as we could and he made a lot of guys miss in the backfield. and got a lot after the first touch. Obviously, he caught the ball well in the backfield. I think he had what, 50 or 60 yards through the air. Gosh, he’s electric. I think you saw the full scope of what we’re capable of.”
The importance of taking care of the ball after having five turnovers for gain so far this season
“I mean, some of them bounced our way. I think I had a sack-fumble today that we landed on, but I’ve been very conscious of that and through the last handful of years of my career tried to really focus on that. I have been doing a good job of that up to this point. Again, a lot of this stuff is the way the ball bounces, but I’m proud of that right now and want to keep that going.”
What the performance can do for the team going into the bye week?
“You almost wish you could play tomorrow after a game like today, but it’s good. It really is. It is better than the alternative and to win in the way we did — I think the way we were feeding off each other today and the energy the defense was giving us — that’s the way the game goes. It is a complementary football game and you could certainly feel it. I felt all day of (the fact that) they were playing with energy and swagger and then we were feeding off that, getting short field, scoring and then they would multiply that. It feels good to win in that way for sure.”
On the seven straight scoring drives
“It felt like (Offensive coordinator) Drew (Petzing) could call whatever he wanted and we were going to make it work. I think today was a good example of, like I've said, where we can go and what we are capable of. I think I said it earlier last week (but) we’ve been good, right? Today we were great ,and there are still some things to be better at certainly, but today we were like ‘OK, that’s what we were capable of.” It’s good to know that’s our standard now and we can hold guys accountable to what we just did today.”
On whether the win was meaningful for offensive coordinator Drew Petzing:
“I think it’s cool. I really think it is not as meaningful as it may seem outside to us, but yeah I think it’s cool anytime that happens against your former team. It's cool.”
Add us as a preferred source on Google