Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
BY DANIEL GLUSKOTER
The 49ers came back from a 17 point halftime deficit to score an improbable 34-31 win over the Detroit Lions for the NFC Championship at Levi’s Stadium Sunday evening and earn a trip tp the Super Bowl.
Christian McCaffrey celebrates his game-tying third quarter touchdown during the 49ers 34-31 win over the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship game Sunday evening.
San Francisco (14-5) looked throughly dead in the water heading into the locker down 24-7 to a fired up Lions team, but a 17 point third quarter flipped the script to help lead the 49ers to their second consecutive comeback victory in the postseason.
The win sets the Niners up for a trip to Las Vegas in two weeks and a Super Bowl rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs (14-6), who bested San Francisco in the title game four years ago.
Christian McCaffery’s one yard touchdown run with 3:04 remaining in the third capped an eight minute stretch by the 49ers that tied a game that seemed to be lost at the half. A 33 yard field goal by Jake Moody five minutes into the final quarter put San Francisco up for the first time in the game before an Elijah Mitchell touchdown with three minutes remaining sealed the deal, giving the Niners a 34-24 advantage.
The Lions took the ball the length of the field for touchdowns on their first two possessions. A Jameson Williams 42 yard burst put Detroit on the board just a minute and a half into the game and after a missed field goal by Moody the Lions came right back with an eleven play drive culminated by a one yard touchdown run by David Montgomery to quickly give them a two touchdown lead 12 minutes into the game in front of the shellshocked home crowd.
Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs high steps into the end zone for a 15 yard touchdown run in the second quarter past a fallen Fred Warner. The score gave the Lions a 21-7 lead but the 49ers came back to win the NFC title game and advance to the Super Bowl.
57 passing yards from Brock Purdy on the Niners second drive helped set up a two yard touchdown run by McCaffery to help get San Francisco back in the game, but a Malcolm Rodriguez interception of a Purdy pass in 49ers territory helped set the Lions up for another score on a 15 yard touchdown run by Jahmyr Gibbs.
A brilliant 51 yard reception by Brandon Aiyuk that deflected off Detroit cornerback Kindle Vildor’s facemask on the Niners second drive of the third quarter set the stage for a six yard touchdown pass from Purdy to him three plays later following a 43 yard Moody field goal, cutting the Lions lead to a touchdown and completely shifting the momentum.
The football deflects off Detroit cornerback Kindle Vildor’s facemask, setting the stage for the trailing Brandon Aiyuk’s 51 yard reception at the four yard line to set up touchdown a few plays later during the third quarter of the NFC Championship game at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.
Asked if he was surprised that he caught the ball and whether he had a sense how big the catch was, Aiyuk responded “I was surprised. We definitely felt the momentum. We came out after halftime and got [San Francisco 49ers WR] Deebo [Samuel] going with back-to-back plays and the third play really got the momentum going. It got the fire ignited a little bit. We felt the energy, and then to finish off at seven points, we were just happy with that because we knew what we could do and where we could take it.”
Purdy added “Obviously to have an explosive play like that was huge in that moment. We needed it to get down the field pretty quick. We were still down two touchdowns. The corner did a good job with actually staying on top, then tipped it up. B.A. did a great job with tracking the ball all the way and making a huge play for us. He’s a baller. That was clutch on his part.”
Just a year after suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow on the sixth play of last years Championship game against the Eagles, Purdy has taken San Francisco to the Super Bowl with just 26 games of NFL experience under his belt. Against the Lions, he went 20-31 for 267 yards with a touchdown and an interception, adding 48 yards on the ground on five carries including a clutch 21 yard run with just under five minutes remaining that helped set up Mitchell’s score that provided the winning margin.
San Francisco’s Deebo Samuel fights his way thru three Lions defenders for a long gain following a reception during the second quarter of the 49ers 34-31 win over Detroit Sunday evening.
McCaffrey rushed for 90 yards on 20 carries with the two scores, adding 42 yards thru the air. Deebo Samuel paced the Niners with eight receptions for 89 yards while Aiyuk corralled three passes for 68 yards along with a catch that will take its place in franchise lore. Defensively, Nick Bosa got to Lions quarterback Jared Goff twice for his first two sacks in four games.
Goff was steady if unspectacular for the Lions, completing 25 of 41 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown. Rookie Sam LaPorta paced Detroit with nine receptions for 97 yards while Amon-Ra St. Brown caught seven passes for 87 yards. Montgomery led Detroit’s vaunted running game with 93 yards on 15 carries and a score while Gibbs ran the ball 12 times for 45 yards and a touchdown. Williams 42 yard touchdown burst was his only carry of the game.
GAME NOTES:
The 49ers advance to the Super Bowl for the eighth time in franchise history and the first time since after the 2019 season. San Francisco has now won 38 playoff games, the most in NFL history.
The Niners became the first team in NFL history to be down 17 or more points at halftime of a Championship Game and come back to win the game.
Purdy’s fourth playoff win in just his second season is the second highest total in NFL history, trailing only Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger’s total of five. The 24 year old will now become the third youngest quarterback to ever start in the Super Bowl, older than only Dan Marino and Roethlisberger.
Kyle Shanahan improved to 8-3 as head coach of the 49ers in the postseason.
