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The Detroit Lions walked off Ford Field on Thanksgiving with a 31-24 loss to the Green Bay Packers, and quarterback Jared Goff didn’t hide from the moment. From accountability on a critical fourth-down miss to his belief in the offense moving forward, Goff covered a lot of ground in his postgame media session.
Here’s everything Jared Goff said after the loss, with his full cleaned-up quotes organized by topic.
On Frank Ragnow’s Surprise Comeback
News broke this week that Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow is coming out of retirement and is expected to rejoin the Lions’ lineup soon. Goff said he’d known something might be brewing for a little while.
On when he first heard Ragnow was thinking about returning:
“Yeah, a few weeks ago. He reached out and had a little interest, I think, and got that itch again, and yeah, we’ll be excited to get him back.”
Later, he circled back to the topic and reiterated how happy he is to have Ragnow back in the mix:
“I didn’t know he was coming back for sure a few weeks ago, but I knew he was interested a few weeks ago. I’m glad he’s back. It’ll be fun.”
On How the Offense Settled In After a Rough Start
The Lions’ offense sputtered early but eventually found a rhythm, even without Amon-Ra St. Brown for most of the game.
Goff’s overall view of how the unit played:
“Pretty good. I thought there were good moments offensively. We moved the ball pretty well at times. Obviously it wasn’t enough and we come up short that way. It sucks. It hurts. You wish you had another chance to try to get another one, but yeah, man, it hurts. It sucks. And they played well. You tip your cap.”
On Jameson Williams, Isaac TeSlaa, and Tom Kennedy Stepping Up
With St. Brown leaving early due to an ankle injury and Sam LaPorta already out, the Lions needed others to step into bigger roles. Goff highlighted Jameson Williams, Isaac TeSlaa, and Tom Kennedy by name.
On Williams and the other receivers answering the call:
“Yeah. Tesla made some key plays. We kind of knew it would become JMO’s game there really before the game, and then when that happens, you really know it. Then Tess, I thought, stepped up and did a good job. I thought TK, he’s going to be an unsung hero there, being able to step in and know all the stuff. Really impressive. But yeah, it’s still a moral victory that we were able to get JMO going like that.”
And when he was asked more broadly about playing without his usual “safety blankets”:
“Yeah, I thought everyone stepped up and did a good job. Jamo became that guy that was getting open a lot and we were trying to get him the ball. I thought Tesla did a good job and, like I said, TK did a good job. Guys stepped up.”
On the Failed Fourth-Down Throw to Jameson Williams
The turning point of the night came early in the fourth quarter, with Detroit trailing 31-21 and facing 4th-and-3 from the Green Bay 21. Goff rolled right and fired to Williams, but the pass was low and behind him, resulting in an incompletion.
Goff took that one squarely on himself:
“Yeah, I did. I got to connect with Jamo there on the one down in the red zone. I got to give him a better throw and he makes the catch. He might score right there and the drive might be over. That’s the one that will hurt me for a while. And then they converted on their fourth downs and tip your cap. I thought they played really well.”
On Why the Lions Are Struggling on Fourth Down
The Lions have now stacked multiple games where fourth down has bitten them hard. Goff didn’t point to scheme or playcalling — instead, he went back to execution and his own missed opportunity.
His answer on how they fix the fourth-down problem:
“I don’t think there’s anything you can do. You just got to execute in those big moments. That’s really it. I wish there was some magic potion to take to be better on fourth down, but there’s not. I had Jamo open. He’s screaming across. I got to hit him. That’s the bottom line. There’s no other way to fix it. I hit him there, then we’re one for two on fourth down and probably get more points there.”
On Life Without Amon-Ra St. Brown
Losing St. Brown early changed the shape of the game plan. Goff acknowledged the impact, while also downplaying any idea that it completely derailed the offense.
On how much the offense changes without him:
“It changes some stuff. He’s obviously such a big part of our offense and a lot of it goes through him, so it changes a little bit, but not much.”
On the Lions’ Mindset at 7–5 and What Comes Next
With the Lions now 7–5 and behind both the Packers and Chicago Bears in the NFC North race, every week from here feels like a playoff game. Goff was blunt about the stakes but kept his message simple.
On where the team goes from here:
“Win the next one. Find a way to win the next one. Get to 8-5, and then after that it’s going to be the same answer. We know where we’re at. We certainly know that this was consequential for division rankings and whatnot, but yeah, we got to win the next one and find a way to beat Dallas.”
From taking responsibility for a missed throw that “will hurt me for a while” to backing his banged-up supporting cast and welcoming Frank Ragnow back into the huddle, Jared Goff’s message after Thanksgiving was pretty clear: no excuses, no magic fixes — just execution, resilience, and finding a way to win the next one.
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Don Drysdale
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