SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Defense was optional, but revenge was not.
The Detroit Lions avenged last year’s NFC championship game loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday, beating the team that ended their 2023 season in a 40-34 shootout at Levi’s Stadium.
The Lions played quarterback Jared Goff and the rest of their starters the entire way in a game that will not impact whether they win the NFC North and get the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
The Lions host the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night in a winner-take-all game at Ford Field, the last game of the NFL’s regular season and a showdown between 14-2 teams.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said this week he would play his starters no matter how the Vikings fared Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. Minnesota won, 27-25. Had the Packers won, the Lions could have clinched the No. 1 seed Monday night.
The loser of the Lions-Vikings game will be the five seed and have to go on the road in the wild-card round.
Goff completed 26 of 34 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns – his third straight game with more than 300 yards passing and at least three TDs – and Jahmyr Gibbs added 117 yards rushing and one touchdown on 18 carries in a game that featured no punts.
Campbell said this week he would never forget last year’s loss to the 49ers, when the Lions led 24-7 at halftime but lost 34-31 after an avalanche of second-half mistakes, but that the Lions had bigger goals in mind than just beating the 49ers.
Brock Purdy was 27 of 35 passing for 355 yards and three touchdowns for the 49ers (6-10), but had two costly interceptions.
Here are three more thoughts from Monday’s game:
One or done?
You can’t walk from Monday’s game and not wonder if the Lions have enough defense to win next week’s game against the Vikings and survive the gauntlet that’s shaping up to be the NFC playoffs.
The Lions didn’t force a punt Monday – the second time in three weeks they went at least a half without forcing a punt – and kept the 49ers off the scoreboard only on two possessions that ended in missed field goals and two more that ended in Purdy interceptions (both by Kerby Joseph).
They didn’t get much pass rush to speak of Monday, their linebacking corps struggled against run-action fakes and they benched rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold for one series to start the second half.
The 49ers have good offensive skill talent in Purdy, George Kittle and Deebo Samuel, and one of the game’s best offensive coaches in Kyle Shanahan. But they were also down their top three running backs and offensive tackles and had topped 17 points just once in their previous six games.
The Lions host a Vikings team that ranks ninth in the NFL in scoring next week in a game that will decide the division title, and will have to beat good offenses – the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (fourth), Washington Commanders (fifth), Philadelphia Eagles (seventh), Green Bay Packers (eighth) and Vikings all rank among the league’s top scoring offenses – and good quarterbacks (Josh Allen? Patrick Mahomes? Lamar Jackson?) to win a Super Bowl.
It feels like the Lions have to be near-perfect on offense to win, and while starting linebacker Alex Anzalone could be back as soon as next week, that’s a tough place to live in the playoffs.
Looking ahead, I think the Lions can win a couple offensive shootouts in the postseason – especially if they play at Ford Field. But if they lose to the Vikings next week, fall to the No. 5 seed and have to go on the road in the playoffs, I’m not sure they can win three straight to get to the Super Bowl.
Kerby comes up big
The one thing the Lions’ shorthanded defense has going for it is that it still has some playmakers in the back end – none bigger than Joseph.
Joseph’s two interceptions Monday give him an NFL-best nine for the season and likely ensure he will win the interception crown. Xavier McKinney of the Packers is second with seven.
Purdy gift-wrapped one pick Sunday on an overthrow, but Joseph made a great read on another to jump a pass to Ricky Pearsall. He has special ball skills and instincts and is having an All-Pro-caliber year.
Joseph isn’t the Lions’ only playmaker in the secondary. Brian Branch has played well all year at the other safety spot (though both he and Joseph irked Campbell with personal foul penalties Monday), Amik Robertson is active trying to punch loose fumbles and Ifeatu Melifonwu is a capable blitzer.
The Lions weren’t great in coverage Monday and miss No. 1 cornerback Carlton Davis III, but when they give their high-scoring offense extra possessions they’re extremely tough to beat.
Dan’s decisions
Campbell caught some flack for his decision-making in last year’s NFC championship game, when the Lions failed to convert two fourth-down attempts in their second-half collapse. Campbell insisted he never regretted those decisions, and given his aggressive nature, the one decision he truly might have had second thoughts about was kicking a short field goal on fourth-and-goal from 3 with 10 seconds left in the first half.
That Lions made that kick and took a 17-point lead into the locker room at halftime, but could have put the game close to out of reach had they gone up three touchdowns.
Well, late in Monday’s first half, Campbell faced a similar situation – the Lions had fourth-and-3 from the 8-yard line with 1:18 left in the first half – and passed on the easy field goal to try and convert on fourth down (which they failed to convert).
It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison, obviously. On Monday, the Lions were trying to keep pace with a 49ers offense that moved the ball at will in the first half, and the 49ers had plenty of time to answer a would-be Lions touchdown had they converted on fourth down.
Still, Campbell’s decision Monday sheds a little more light on his thought process coming out of the NFC title game. Of all the mistakes the Lions made in January – two dropped passes, a lost fumble, a completed pass by the 49ers off Kindle Vildor’s facemask – maybe taking the sure three points instead of trying to get seven late in the first half was one.
Dave Birkett is the author of the new book, “Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline.” Order your copy here. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
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