Thanksgiving weekend in Detroit brings a little more meaning this year. The Detroit Lions are 7-4, the Green Bay Packers are 7-3-1 and both are staring up at the first-place Chicago Bears as the NFC North starts tightening heading into December.
Ford Field will be loud, tense and ready for another chapter in a rivalry that always delivers. Through all the pressure of the playoff chase, Jared Goff has stayed pretty steady in how he carries himself. Part of that comes from home, where his wife Christen Harper Goff and their new baby have become the center of his world.
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The couple has been together since 2019, long before the Lions became one of the most-watched teams in football. When Goff shared a photo in June of 2021 and wrote, “I’m the luckiest guy in the world because I get to spend forever with you. I love you,” it didn’t feel like a quarterback speaking to his followers.
It felt like someone going forward in his life with something real. The two later married in Ojai, California, and welcomed their first child this year. Christen posted her own photo holding their baby in September with the caption “Summer of love,” a short but effective message that showed how much their family has changed in a short time.
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Life in Detroit and Giving Back
Christen didn’t just move to Detroit to follow her husband’s career. She decided early on to be part of the city. One of the first things she did after getting settled was volunteer with Forgotten Harvest, a Detroit area nonprofit known for rescuing surplus food and delivering it directly to families.
She started helping in the warehouse and at the farm, sorting produce and working with other volunteers. That work connected her with the community in a real way and has continued since the day the couple arrived.
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She has talked openly about how meaningful those hours have been, especially when she’s out on the farm harvesting corn or cabbage that will go straight to families across Metro Detroit. It’s work that has nothing to do with football and everything to do with being a good neighbor. It also makes the Goffs feel rooted in a city that has embraced them from the moment Jared stepped on the field.
Her involvement with Forgotten Harvest has grown to include speaking at the Women’s Harvest Lunch, an event that brings together volunteers, donors and community leaders. She has become one of the faces of the organization’s mission, which fits with what people around the Lions say about the couple. They’re present. They show up. They give their time without drawing attention to it.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16)Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
A Marriage Built Around Support
On Sundays at Ford Field, you can see Christen in the stands with their baby, usually with a giant pretzel nearby. She has talked about how much she loves them, calling them the best she has ever had. Those small moments have become part of life for the family, even in a season filled with pressure.
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As the Lions try to chase down the Bears, Goff is once again in the middle of a race that will be decided in December. Detroit needs every win it can get, starting with this showdown against the Packers.
The signal caller has completed 69.3% of his passes for 2,769 yards, to go with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions on the season. Amon-Ra St. Brown has been his top target with nine touchdown receptions.
The quarterback never talks much about himself, but when he posts something about his wife or their baby, he usually keeps it simple. This season hasn’t changed that. What he shared a few years ago still feels true today, only now they’re doing it as a family.
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A city that has fallen in love with its football team has also embraced the couple at the center of it. And as Detroit heads into the final stretch of the season, the Goffs remain one of the steadying forces behind the Lions’ rise.
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Nov 27, 2025, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
