-
Eric Woodyard, ESPN
MINNEAPOLIS — Jared Goff wasn’t even born the last time the Detroit Lions clinched a division title.
However, on Sunday, the veteran quarterback — born in 1994 — was at the forefront of the Lions celebrating their first division championship since 1993.
With the 30-24 win over the Minnesota Vikings, Detroit clinched its first division title in three decades, ending the NFL’s second-longest active drought without a division title next to the Cleveland Browns (1989).
Goff passed for 257 yards and a touchdown and rookie Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns, but it was Ifeatu Melifonwu‘s game-sealing interception of a Nick Mullens pass with 58 seconds remaining with the Vikings driving for the go-ahead score that sealed the victory.
Entering the game, Goff said the current Lions team didn’t “carry the weight of the last 30 years here” with the division-winning drought. However, their head coach Dan Campbell, also a former Lions player, made it a priority for guys to understand the special opportunity they had in front of them to accomplish this season-long goal.
“I definitely do, and I think that’s what a lot of this is about, but we are a young team and most of these guys weren’t even born, the last time that they won a division,” Campbell said during Friday’s practice. “So, it’s not but I think they also understand how special it will be. You’re telling me that we can be a division winner for the first time in 30 years for an organization, that’s special. I don’t care how you cut it. So, whatever perspective you take, it’s still special. So, I think that’s the message and they understand that. Look, we want this.”
Wayne Fontes was head coach of the Lions in 1993 when they finished 10-6 and clinched the NFC Central division in the last week of the regular season with a win over the Green Bay Packers. He can barely recall his feelings during that moment, as so much time has passed, but the 83-year-old is a big fan of Campbell, Detroit’s new beloved coach.
“Congratulations. Dan Campbell has done a great job. He’s an outstanding coach,” Fontes told ESPN. “The football team is well-coached. Their assistant coaches do a great job and Dan Campbell is probably one of the best coaches to come around in a long, long time in Detroit. I keep rooting for them and I think they’re gonna continue to win because again, they have a good coach, coaching staff and good players.”
“Thirty years is a long time ago,” Fontes said, laughing. “Dan Campbell deserves a good atta boy or way to go or whatever because he’s done a great job. I really believe that.”
