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When the Detroit Lions take on the Cincinnati Bengals, Lions quarterback Jared Goff will see a familiar face.
Jared Goff did not mince words about what his second road game against the Los Angeles Rams with the Detroit Lions means. The matchup pits Goff against the quarterback the Rams traded him for, Matthew Stafford, and the coach who dealt him away, Sean McVay.
Goff has a winning record against his former HC, team, and replacement.
However, the four-time Pro Bowler downplayed the significance of the matchup beyond a head-to-head between two playoff-caliber teams.
Jared Goff Downplays Lions-Rams Matchup
GettyJared Goff #16 of the Detroit Lions adjusts the play against the Baltimore Ravens.
The Rams drafted Goff with the No. 1 overall pick in 2016, and he led them to the Super Bowl in 2018. However, the Rams traded Goff to the Lions in a package for Stafford after missing the postseason in 2019 and losing in the Divisional Round in 2020.
Goff, 31, is 2-1 against the Rams, including a win in the 2023 NFC Wild Card Game. Still, Goff pointed to the time that has passed since the Rams dealt him to the Lions.
He said, “Not so much anymore” when asked if the matchup riles him up.
“It feels like a long time ago. And I think we kind of talked about it earlier in the year, how it’s kind of my career now has spent more time here. So, yeah, it certainly feels like a long time ago,” Goff told reporters on December 10.
“We played them in that playoff game, was such a big deal. And then, the next year played him again, and that felt like even less. And so, now it’s even further removed.”
Goff said the Rams are a “really good team” and the Lions will “have our hands full.”
This is the latest time that the two teams have met in the regular season since the trade and the latest for the franchises since 2003. The first post-trade matchup came with the Rams at 6-1 and en route to winning the Super Bowl in 2021. The second was in Week 1 last season.
Jared Goff Softens Stance on Facing Former Team
GettyJared Goff #16 of the Detroit Lions looks on after an interception against the Green Bay Packers.
Goff’s stance on facing Stafford and the Rams now differs greatly from the one the Lions star expressed in July during the Netflix series “Quarterback.”
Then, Goff said McVay unexpectedly informed him of the trade shortly after the season in 2021.
“He lets me know they’re trading me to Detroit, and I’m kind of like, ‘Oh, whoa. Okay, alright. What the hell? What’s happening?’ I would say about 30 seconds after that phone call, it was on Twitter,” Goff said during the episode.
“You feel like you’ve been betrayed or like you’re not wanted. And I think for me, ultimately, it was the fact that there wasn’t a conversation had, and that there wasn’t a ‘Hey, we’re thinking about moving on’ type of thing. There was nothing. You wish that it wasn’t such a blind side, and you wish that there was some sort of maturity, I guess, to have that conversation.”
Goff called the experience his “first real taste of true adversity.” He said his career was “at a fork in the road.”
He also said he hopes this can continue developing into a rivalry.
“I think we’re both really good teams. I got so much respect for those guys over there, and how well they’re playing, how well they’re coached. Certainly, the film I’m watching of their defense is really impressive, and coach [Chris] Shula is doing a great job,” Goff said.
“We know what they’re doing on offense, scoring all the points. Matthew’s playing really well, and the whole thing. So, yeah, we’ve got our hands full and got to find a way to win.”
He continued with his high praise for Stafford.
“He’s doing a good job,” Goff told media members of Stafford, who is having an MVP-caliber season. “We do get some crossover tape here and there, and he’s one of those guys you like to watch on tape. It’s good.”
McVay told reporters on December 10 that Goff has grown in numerous facets of the game, that he is “happy” for the QB, and that he could have handled their situation better.
Matthew Stafford Happy With Rams, Grateful for Time With Lions
GettyMatthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams looks on during a game against the Baltimore Ravens.
For his part, Stafford noted how much he learned about himself. He started a family while in Detroit, and he still has connections there. He is happy where he is now, though, and is happy to see both teams doing well.
“Obviously I’m happy to be where I am, and I feel like the Lions obviously have capitalized on a lot of the picks and players that they were able to acquire in that trade,” Stafford said on the “Let’s Go!” podcast, per the Detroit Free Press’s Christian Romo on December 9. “Their franchise is as good as it’s been ever in the last handful of years.
“Two successful teams, really good football coaches, good football programs at the moment. And, yeah, it looks like one that both sides got kind of what they were looking for out of it.”
Stafford’s Rams and Goff’s Lions remain in line for another emotionally charged matchup.