Notes: Jared Goff reveals more details about iconic Penei Sewell catch

It was one of the best—if not, most memorable—plays in recent Detroit Lions history.

Right tackle Penei Sewell cements himself as the greatest receiver in Lions history in a mid-December matchup against Minnesota. It’s best you take a moment to rewatch:

Joining the Pardon My Take podcast, quarterback Jared Goff offered a few more details around the play that captured the nation. He’ll take credit for the throw, but says offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was the mastermind—and he was super pumped about it.

“That was a little nugget he thought about on Monday of that week I remember we were talking about it — how he was just like, I want to get Penei the ball somehow, how can we get Penei the ball,” Goff said.

At the time, the Minnesota Vikings were down a score and trying to mount a comeback.

“They kept calling time out in between each play because they were trying to stop the clock and get the ball back ... and in between every time the one before we threw it to Penei, Ben’s telling me hey, tell Penei, calm down, make sure to just tell him to secure the catch and get the fist down, don’t go out of bounds,” Goff said.

But apparently Sewell was prepared and his fellow offensive lineman knew it.

“So I’m giving him all this information, ‘Hey, just catch the ball,’ and then our left guard Jonah Jackson looks at me and he goes, ‘Yo, chill out, he’s good,’” Goff said.

Besides plays like that, Goff said one of his favorite things about Johnson’s offense is how much freedom he has.

“He allows for me personally to be creative. I get a lot of decision-making capabilities at the line of scrimmage. He puts a lot in my hands, a lot on my plate, and allows me to play quarterback and really direct our offense,” he said.

Goff also touched on his trade to Detroit and some advice from former Piston Blake Griffin, how he never lost confidence in himself amid some negative chatter, and much more.

And onto the rest of your notes.

• Love when cool folks stop by training camp when they’re in town. Look how geeked the guys are.

• Joint practices are not only a chance for players to get some reps, but a chance for coaches to see what the other team’s working with. The Athletic’s Lions beat writer Colton Pouncy and Giants beat writer Dan Duggan team up to offer some players on each squad the other should keep an eye on. ($)

• I know the Lions being hot has been the trend for a while now but it’s still strange to see national media expecting big things out of them. Detroit takes the NFC at 10-7 in this prediction of how each NFL division shakes out.

• Probably won’t look at chili flakes the same after this.

• The team took a much-deserved break from Allen Park to blow off some steam at the Fōwling Warehouse in Hamtramck.