According to Jared Goff, the best fans in the NFL reside in the Motor City.
And he helped point out one scene at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., as proof on Sunday.
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Insider Catches Fan Moment in Lions’ Road Game, Leading to Jared Goff’s NSFW Response
While a road game for the Detroit Lions, there was a sea of blue, white, and silver among the reported 65,854 who took in the first-place showdown between the Lions and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
ESPN NFL reporter Jeff Darlington caught a boisterous scene following the Lions’ 20-6 romp of the NFC South-leading Bucs. It was the kind of moment that Goff told Darlington as he walked off the field, “Are you seeing this? Best fans in the f***ing league!”
I’ve seen a lot of opposing fan bases make noise for their team after a win — but the Lions might’ve topped them all today.
Or as @JaredGoff16 said to me as he left the field, “Are you seeing this? Best fans in the f***ing league!”
This video is well after the game ended… pic.twitter.com/PyL8TtmLXQ
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) October 15, 2023
The Lions have played in three road games already through their first six games. And yet, each result feels more like Ford Field for Detroit, as the Lions have yet to lose a single road game this season.
MORE: Detroit Lions Depth Chart
The teams the Lions have defeated away from the Motor City? The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, bitter NFC North rival and longtime division title threat Green Bay Packers, and now the winners of the last three NFC South titles, the Bucs.
Even the Lions’ X account acknowledged Goff’s NSFW message.
Are you seeing this⁉️ pic.twitter.com/h8WTexJN1l
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 16, 2023
Lions Got a Bucs Star to Admit ‘I Sucked Today’
The sea of Lions fans wasn’t the only thing that washed up the Bucs’ home venue. So did the Detroit defense — with the kind of performance that got one Bucs star to admit, “I sucked today.”
Detroit’s defense bottled Tampa to the following totals:
- 251 total yards, the second-worst total yardage mark for Tampa in home games this season
- 46 rushing yards, limiting the Bucs to an average of just 2.9 yards per carry.
- No 100-yard wide receiver on the evening.
- One Baker Mayfield interception and one sack.
And it was Mayfield who shared his admission about his performance following the game.
“I sucked today,” Mayfield shared via FOX NFC South reporter Greg Auman.
Mayfield was equally harsh on the team’s performance, saying, “We sucked today. It was awful.”
“I sucked today. We sucked today. It was awful,” Baker Mayfield says, owning a 20-6 loss to the Lions. pic.twitter.com/j09BXyLqlX
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) October 16, 2023
Goff ended his outing completing 30 passes out of 44 attempts for 353 yards, the latter number a new season-high for him. He then tossed two touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams — the latter torching the Bucs on this 45-yarder:
#Lions QB Jared Goff with a DEEP SHOT to Jameson Williams 😮💨
Williams’ presence can take this offense to another level 🔥
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) October 15, 2023
Even earlier in the game, the Lions showed they can play a selfless style of football, as running back Craig Reynolds sprinted all the way down to spring St. Brown loose on his catch-and-run score in the second quarter by delivering this pulverizing block:
#Lions RB Craig Reynolds BULLDOZED #Buccaneers CB Carlton Davis on this Amon-Ra St. Brown TD 😤😤😤
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) October 15, 2023
Tampa Bay became the Motor City and the Lions’ den for one night only. Along with Goff, defensive captain Alex Anzalone couldn’t help but take in the scene of Lions fans changing the colors inside Raymond James Stadium.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Anzalone said after the win. “I think it’s the best fan base in America, and it’s just cool to see them go crazy and takeover a stadium far away from home.”