What Detroit Lions players were saying in the locker room after win vs. Packers

Following the Detroit Lions’ win over the Green Bay Packers to end the season, we got to ask them about the win and where things stand heading into 2023. Here’s what they had to say:

Taylor Decker

On how he feels after the win as one of the locker room’s longest-tenured players: “We found out a lot about the character of the people in this locker room and found out who we can rely on. Today’s game was like a playoff football game... the deck was stacked against us... Everybody’s talking about—rightfully so—Aaron Rodgers is phenomenal, but what about us? We just went out there and validated everything we knew.”

On the injuries to the interior offensive line throughout the season and playing alongside so many different guys in 2022: “Maybe if we need to get more help inside for certain things we could do that, but I wanted to play every snap this year, I know Penei did… We had a trick play in a couple weeks ago where they were like ‘hey if this doesn’t score you might have to come out of the game’ I was like ‘nope, I’m gonna stay in the game… I’ll learn the tight end spot if I need to’.”

Alex Anzalone

On rebounding from a missed tackle on the opening drive with his goal line stops: “Defensively, you shoot your shot in these types of games... knowing the circumstances we were in, personally just wanted to go out there one last time this year and let it rip.”

On the success of keeping Aaron Rodgers more contained than Week 9: “We did a really good job on third down for the most part of keeping him in… he’s a capable scrambler and an annoying scrambler. Our d-line did a really good job and then when we had pressures we were able to get home to him and force turnovers.”

John Cominsky

On his improvement throughout the season and expanding his role from a run-stopper to include pass rush: “I had just gotten here, so every week that I was here I felt like I was building more and more chemistry and more and more trust... I got more playing time than I ever have this season… the Lions finally gave me that chance, that real full opportunity, and I was able to show what I can do”

On what he attributes the most to his jump this season: “The chemistry with the team... it comes from the head coach down. GM and owner too... I just belong in this atmosphere, and I would credit my success to being in the right place, and them knowing that I belonged here.”

Jamaal Williams

On diversifying his skillset to include the passing game: “I think I did my job this year, I just need to keep being me, keep improving on what I need to, and keep trying to be the best running back I can be. I still got a lot to go.”

Josh Woods:

On evolving into one of the special teams unit’s best tacklers: “I can’t take full credit… every week I ask them to step up their game, and every week they do, which forces me to continue to step up my game. I can’t ask them to do something that I’m not doing myself. This is one of if not the best special teams unit in the league, and I hope people understood it today.”

On what he credits most for his success on special teams: “The best thing that they do from a coaching standpoint is they let us figure it out… they’ll give us the hardest looks in practice and then they won’t even coach it… it’s player led... Running down there and making tackles, I’ve been doing that my whole life. That’s not the hard part. The hard part is the scheme... Special teams can be a spark plug or you can let the team down.”

Brock Wright

On how the dynamic of the TE unit has changed since they’ve started spreading the ball around: “It’s fun.. I love our group, it’s awesome. We’re a pretty close knit group to be honest. Fairly young too, but it’s a blast playing with those guys I think we work really well together.”