If the season ended after week 10, the Detroit Lions would be the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. Their Week 11 opponent, the Jacksonville Jaguars, would have the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

After a stirring road win in Houston against the AFC South-leading Texans on Sunday night, one naturally thinks that playing against the worst team in the league at this point – in Detroit, no less – could be a ” proverbial trap. game.”

Lions are aware of the trap game phenomenon. However, quarterback Jared Goff doesn’t seem too concerned about this particular edition of the 8-1 Lions falling prey to looking past the 2-8 Jaguars.

“Yes, we have a mature group. There’s not much to say,” Goff told reporters Wednesday. “We have our own standards: No matter who we play, no matter what their record is, we have our own things that we want to prove and “We have to get better, and I think that’s the biggest battle right now is to continue to improve and know that we have to get better even though we’re able to win some of these close games. “

Goff hasn’t posted prolific passing numbers over the past three weeks, all wins, but the Lions haven’t needed him to put up big numbers. The Pro Bowl QB sees the Jaguars as an opportunity to get back on the track that made him the NFC Offensive Player of the Month in October.

“Obviously last week wasn’t as explosive as we wanted it to be,” Goff said as part of a longer response. “So, yeah, to get things back on track, I think he’s absolutely right and that starts this week for us.”

This article was originally published on Lions Wire: Jared Goff explains why the Lions won’t get caught in a ‘trap game’ against the Jaguars