Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett highlights the best performances from the Detroit Lions' 24-23 playoff win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at Ford Field:

Game balls

QB Jared Goff

Jared Goff downplayed the personal side of Sunday’s game all week — and even after the game. But the Lions quarterback dropped hints of how meaningful beating his old team, the Rams, would be, saying last week his growth as a quarterback was due in part to “having guys here believe in me and trust me” and embracing the fan support he got Sunday “with the circumstances that were there.”

JEFF SEIDEL: When Lions needed him most, Jared Goff came through for historic playoff win

Whatever his motivation, Goff played one of his best games of the season Sunday. He completed his first 10 passes, led the Lions to touchdowns on their first three drives and finished 22-for-27 for 277 yards with a passer rating of 121.8. Asked after the game if his performance forever cemented him as part of Detroit, Goff said, “I hope so.”

“This place is special to me and like I just said, these people are special,” he said. “That’s the best home atmosphere I’ve ever played in front of, and I expect next week to be on top of that or second. It’s a special place to play, and I’ve only been here for three years, but to see us come from where we were to where we are now and the fans endure some of that, it’s special to be able to get this W for them and for this group in our locker room.”

DE Aidan Hutchinson

Hutchinson has been on quite the heater the past three weeks.

The second-year defensive end had two sacks, six tackles and five quarterback hits Sunday, then drew the key holding penalty on the Rams’ final drive to force an L.A. punt. Since Christmas, Hutchinson has seven sacks and has been a singular pass rushing force on a Lions defense that has to rely too heavily on the blitz at times to get to the quarterback. Oh, and he did it all while battling an illness Sunday.

“Like I told you guys, I heat up late in the season,” Hutchinson said. “It’s a playoff time and I’ve been waiting for my opportunity in the playoffs. Just want to make the most of it, every opp I get.”

P Jack Fox

Punters don’t often get game balls, especially in games the Lions never trail. But Fox deserves one Sunday as one of the game’s unsung heroes.

Fox had three punts Sunday for net and gross averages of 49.3 yards. He pinned the Rams at the 5-yard line (after a 5-yard penalty) on a 35-yard punt with a minute left in the first; the Rams were content to run out of the clock rather than try to cut into the Lions’ 21-17 lead. He hit a 52-yard punt on the first play of the fourth quarter that Austin Trammell fair-caught at the 10. And he banged a 61-yard punt two possessions later that buried the Rams at their own 8 on what turned into their final possession.

“Took all three phases,” Campbell said. “I thought Jack Fox was unbelievable.”

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions game balls: Jared Goff delivers in playoffs vs. old team