Detroit Lions' Jared Goff talks blowout win over Dallas, devastating injury to Aidan Hutchinson
Jared Goff on big win in Dallas, losing Hutch, and giving Campbell a game ball
Jennifer Hammond sat down exclusively with Lions quarterback Jared Goff on Monday to break down the blowout win over the Cowboys, losing Aidan Hutchinson, and his decision to give a game ball to Dan Campbell after the game.
(FOX 2) - The Detroit Lions have started the season strong, blown out a conference opponent, and are looking pretty as they prepare for their biggest game of the season when they travel to Minnesota to take on the Vikings.
But beneath those storylines is a less happy narrative that Jared Goff and the rest of the Lions will have to contend with for the next several months: competing without Aidan Hutchinson.
"He's everything you want in a teammate and a player. And for something so devastating like that to happen to him and to see it visibly on his face how upset he was - it's hard," the quarterback said. "It really is hard and it's hard to move past that and keep playing that game."
Hutchinson, the Lions' star defensive end and an early candidate for player of the year on that side of the ball, broke his leg after making contact with Alim McNeil midway through Detroit's win over Dallas on Sunday.
He had surgery to repair a fractured tibia and fibula and is expected to be out for months.
But with a massive divisional game now looming, Goff said the boss means "now we have a little more to play for and hopefully he'll be back in our building soon here and get back to work."
MORE COVERAGE: Dan Campbell: Lions not panicking after Aidan Hutchinson's broken leg
After the 47-9 win, head coach Dan Campbell did his traditional game ball speech in the locker room. Only this time, Goff flipped the script and returned the favor.
"I think this one was a little bit more special for him, being in Dallas," Goff said.
Campbell spent part of his playing career as a Cowboy. He's also from the area and, after two losses to Dallas over the past two years, getting over the hump meant more, Goff said.
"I think this one meant a little bit more to him and I just wanted to recognize him for being, being the rock of our team," he said. "And I think sometimes he may get underappreciated for how much he does for us, and I want to make sure he knows that we appreciate him."
In exchange for the work Campbell has put in, the Lions have some of the best offense in the league and are scoring more than 30 points a game. That includes them eclipsing 40 points over the past two games versus the Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks.
After taking some time to find their groove, Goff sees a team maturing ahead of the season's most important matchups.
"I thought that first half of the Arizona game was kind of indicative of who we want to be, and then we're able to do it against Seattle for the whole game, again yesterday for the whole game, and I'm going to try to do it again," he said.
'I love those guys. This is our crew': Dan Campbell chokes up after Jared Goff gives him game ball
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell was given the game ball by his star quarterback on Sunday -- in a classy gesture that moved the Lions' leader.