A significant part of the reason the Detroit Lions are in the position to publicly state their 2024 season goal is winning the Super Bowl is the continued growth of quarterback Jared Goff.

After leading the Lions to two playoff wins and to within one game of the Super Bowl, Detroit’s veteran signal-caller is eager to take the team he leads further in the playoffs. He has the goal of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in the near future.

But don’t tell the 29-year-old the team’s run in 2023 was “Cinderella-esque.”

The former No. 1 overall pick simply wants the team to earn the credit for being a “damn good” football team.

“I get where some people are super flashy, and Jared has not been flashy,” Goff’s private quarterbacks coach Adam Dedeaux said, via Sports Illustrated. “He’s been solid. He’s been dependable, repeatable. He executes. He stays healthy. He’s present. It matters to him, to be in the building. He shows up. Does the little things. Easy to coach. And only getting better.”

Last season, Goff ranked top-five amongst all quarterbacks in both passing yards and touchdowns. He threw for 4,575 yards and 30 touchdowns with a 97.9 passer rating. For his efforts, he earned an 84.4 overall offensive grade via Pro Football Focus.

General manager Brad Holmes recently expressed to reporters Goff did not need need the potential of a long-term contract extension to put in the work and continue his growth on the field.

The continuity of the offensive coaching staff has also played a role in Goff having one of his best seasons last year, and for the elevated level of excitement and optimism heading into the 2024 season.

“He’s the right guy. He’s the leader for us. He didn’t need a contract to go out there and do what he does on the field, he truly earned that. I have not seen a change in him. If anything, it’s been better just because it’s another year of the continuity,” Holmes said. “I give Dan (Campbell) a lot of credit in terms of the continuity that he’s had with the coaching staff. That’s obviously helped, and we have a lot of familiar faces along with that too.

“I see it being even better,” Holmes continued. “It’s been amazing to see his growth as a player ever since our days back with the Rams with him. But yeah, I’m not going to say that he needed the contract to elevate him, he was already elevating, playing at a high level, but I do think it’s going to be better for all the other things I named.”