49ers rally to beat Lions, attain Tremendous Bowl vs Chiefs

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers are nonetheless alive of their quest for a sixth Lombardi Trophy. Barely.

The 49ers overcame a 17-point halftime deficit to the Detroit Lions, as third-quarter heroics by broad receiver Brandon Aiyuk and quarterback Brock Purdy helped San Francisco rally to a 34-31 victory over Detroit within the NFC Championship Sport on Sunday, denying the Lions their first Tremendous Bowl look.

Christian McCaffrey scored twice for the 49ers, who will play the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs in Tremendous Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in a rematch of their Tremendous Bowl showdown 4 years in the past.

San Francisco 49ers

For many of the season, the 49ers had been the right front-runners. They typically raced out to huge leads, pressured opponents to throw the complete second half and put video games away.

That strategy left many questioning if the Niners had been manufactured from the suitable stuff when the sport was on the road. If final week’s win towards the Inexperienced Bay Packers wasn’t sufficient proof, the 49ers left little doubt Sunday towards the Lions.

The 49ers entered halftime trailing by 17 with seemingly little probability of getting again into it. However these veteran-led Niners by no means relented, rattling off 27 straight factors to forge a tie with the 2012 model of the 49ers for the most important comeback in NFC Championship Sport historical past.

And now, after a sequence of close to misses and devastating losses earlier than the Tremendous Bowl, the Niners will get their long-awaited shot on the franchise’s sixth Lombardi Trophy. In a becoming twist, they’re going to do it towards the Chiefs, who erased their very own deficit in Tremendous Bowl LIV to ship the Niners on their four-year journey to get again to the league’s greatest stage.

QB breakdown: After a tough first half during which he was beneath strain typically and threw his first profession postseason interception, Purdy decimated the Lions along with his arm and his legs. Purdy had a pair of 21-yard scrambles in key moments, ending with 48 yards on 5 carries and finishing 20 of 31 passes for 267 yards and a landing with the interception.

Whereas Purdy did not wait till the ultimate drive of the fourth quarter this week, he did save his greatest for final to assist the Niners transfer on.

Greatest gap within the recreation plan: How the Niners’ protection would maintain up towards Detroit’s working recreation was the most important query dealing with San Francisco this week. And whereas a lot of the Lions’ success was the results of flat-out bodily dominance, Niners defensive coordinator Steve Wilks did not supply a lot in the best way of changes to sluggish it down.

At numerous factors within the season, the Niners dabbled with five-man fronts to alter it up and provides opposing offenses one thing to consider. Except for a third-quarter surge, the Niners struggled to cease the run as Detroit completed with 182 yards on 29 makes an attempt.

Describe the sport in two phrases: Comeback children. A lot was made this season of the Niners’ incapacity to creator comebacks, however apparently they had been saving it for the postseason, as they erased a second-half deficit for the second week in a row to advance to Tremendous Bowl LVIII. The Niners be part of the 1994 Chargers as the one groups with a number of seven-point, second-half playoff comebacks previous to reaching the Tremendous Bowl. That Chargers staff misplaced to San Francisco in Tremendous Bowl XXIX (49-26). — Nick Wagoner

Subsequent recreation: vs. Kansas Metropolis Chiefs in Tremendous Bowl LVIII, Feb. 11 (6:30 p.m. ET, CBS)

Detroit Lions

So shut, however up to now.

It was a story of two halves for the Lions as they blew a 17-point lead at halftime, falling one recreation in need of the primary Tremendous Bowl look in franchise historical past. The third quarter was the game-changer, because the Lions had been outscored 17-0 to cough up a 24-7 halftime lead because of a circus catch by Aiyuk and a pricey fumble by Jahmyr Gibbs.

Detroit has now misplaced 12 straight playoff video games on the street, extending its mark for the longest postseason street dropping streak in NFL historical past.

Describe the sport in two phrases: Questionable choices. Lions head coach Dan Campbell is thought for being aggressive and made some robust calls, notably failing twice on fourth down within the second half, which may have modified issues down the stretch.

Troubling development: Third-quarter woes. Not solely had been the Lions held scoreless popping out of the primary half, however they had been outgained 170-42, which was their second-worst yards differential in 1 / 4 this season. Gibbs’ misplaced fumble was their first turnover of the postseason, they usually dropped two passes on third and fourth downs, which was tied for his or her most in a recreation this season.

QB breakdown: Jared Goff did not must have his biggest efficiency within the air, with the Lions working so effectively within the first half, however he continued his playoff streak of no interceptions. Goff handed for 273 yards whereas going 25-for-41, however he did not throw a landing cross till the waning moments of the sport. He almost reached a Tremendous Bowl along with his second staff, the place he would have joined Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Kurt Warner and Craig Morton as the one QBs to start out a Tremendous Bowl with a number of groups. — Eric Woodyard