SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The game that was meaningless to most watching some 2,500 miles away in
The Detroit Lions’ first trip of the 2024 calendar year was here at Levi’s Stadium versus the San Francisco 49ers. Their last game of 2024 was also here at Levi’s Stadium vs. the 49ers. Different outcomes, different stakes, sure. But the Lions’ magical 2023 season ended right here in the NFC Championship Game this past January. For a team hoping to right its wrongs this postseason, there’s something to be said for that.
It’s not closure, but it was the desired result on a night that went their way this time.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel some type of way at first, walking into this locker room and walking out into that field,” Sewell said after the Lions’ 40-34 win over the 49ers. “But I think, at the end of the day, we just gotta lock into what we need to accomplish.”
Penei Sewell guards against San Francisco’s defensive end Nick Bosa in the third quarter. (Sergio Estrada / Imagn Images)
One way to help ensure the Lions don’t feel that way again is by positioning themselves for the best postseason possible. The Lions were the No. 3 seed last year, ultimately losing to the 49ers in their city. But this year, they’ve given themselves a shot at the top seed, a chance to guarantee that all roads in the NFC run through Detroit.
Truthfully, they were on their way well before this game. It was meaningless, so to speak. A loss in San Francisco this time around wouldn’t end their season. It wouldn’t knock them out of contention for the division or the No. 1 seed. All of their goals would’ve remained in front of them heading into a winner-take-all finale in Week 18 because of the games they’ve won this season. It led some to speculate whether the Lions would bench their starters.
However, the Lions have made it this far because they know only one gear. They weren’t shifting on a night like tonight.
“This game and this approach is the DNA of this team,” wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown told “SportsCenter” after the game.
The thought process to rest some starters made sense. The game didn’t have postseason implications — save for a potential scenario in which the Lions and Minnesota Vikings tie in Week 18. Detroit is the most injured team in football, so preventing the potential for further ailments and allowing guys time to rest up could’ve been beneficial. It was all considered, Lions coach Dan Campbell said after the game. Here are the conclusions he came to:
The Lions had prepared all week as though their starters were playing. They put a game plan in place with the belief that their starters would be out there.
He didn’t think sending out unprepared reserves was fair to them — nor was having to decide which of his starters would be benched and which had to continue playing, since there were only so many guys who could realistically rest. No matter how you trot them out, some starters would’ve been subjected to playing alongside backups. There are issues with that, too.
The idea of not doing what you can to win a football game will simply never sit right with a guy like Campbell. Especially before the biggest regular-season game of his coaching career.
“I’ll make this easy for everybody,” Campbell said last week. “We’re bringing everything that we have to this game, and we are playing, and I don’t care what it looks like and where it’s at or who’s this, who’s that. We’re going out to play and win this game out on the West Coast. So, there you go.”
Turns out the Lions would need just about everything in Monday’s game, largely because the 49ers gave them everything they had. If the Lions are the most injured team in the NFL, the 49ers might be second. They’ve lost and played without stars like Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Trent Williams and others. And yet, someone failed to mention how meaningless this game was to them. This is a prideful team that knows it was dealt a bad hand this year. You could tell before the game started.
“Dan Campbell said ‘we’re bringing everybody to the West Coast.’ For what? To get your ass beat tonight.”
Fred Warner ahead of Lions-49ers on Monday Night 😳 pic.twitter.com/HkVup2malg
— ESPN (@espn) December 31, 2024
This time, it was the 49ers starting hot. They were the enforcers, forcing the Lions to play catch-up. They waltzed down the field on their opening drive and scored a touchdown, then did it two more times to hang 21 first-half points.
You had receivers running free over the middle of the field. You had busted coverages, miscommunication and pick plays working in San Francisco’s favor. The 49ers were getting whatever they wanted against a Lions defense that struggled to get stops.
It might look like this at times, considering how short-handed the defense is.
“We just said, ‘Don’t turn your back on each other,” cornerback Terrion Arnold said after the game. “You go out there, and football is one of those things where it’s a game of momentum. As long as we just keep our poise and go out there and do our job to execute, we’re going to go out there and the play is going to come.”
What the Lions have going for them is an offense that can buy its defense time — and win games. This was one of those nights. The offense once again looked elite enough to win a shootout. It was going toe-to-toe with a 49ers offense that still features Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel and others. Trailing 21-13 at the half, the offense got the ball to start the third quarter and tied it at 21.
Jared Goff once again looked dialed in, spreading the wealth and continuing to operate this offense at a high level. He has thrown for 1,416 yards, 14 touchdowns and just one interception in his last four games. He has thrown for a career-high 36 touchdowns this season, playing at a level that can win a Super Bowl.
“You find me a quarterback that’s playing better than him in this league right now,” Campbell said of Goff. “I’d love to see it.”
Love the hell out of these guys pic.twitter.com/sqpBnr5XRz
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 31, 2024
But it wasn’t just Goff. Jameson Williams had a multi-touchdown day. Sam LaPorta scored. St. Brown scored. It was an all-hands-on-deck sort of game, en route to 40 points and 439 yards.
The Lions scored 27 second-half points — fueled by two interceptions from safety Kerby Joseph — and capped the win with a 30-yard sprint by Jahmyr Gibbs to put things out of reach. The defense made adjustments and allowed just 13 second-half points, with 6 of those points coming with 43 seconds left in a game the Lions took command of.
“This game didn’t really mean much, but this game meant everything for me,” Joseph said. “I felt like we were so close and we came up short. So, the feeling to come back out here to San Fran and come back with the win, I know we started off slow on defense, but we were able to finish. I felt like this shows our grit and adversity. I love this team. I love this team so much.”
It wasn’t always pretty, but this was the sort of game the Lions were hoping for. They got the victory they craved. They escaped without injury. And now that it’s over, they can turn their full attention toward the Vikings. Because that’s what this all comes down to.
As much as the Lions wanted this one — publicly and privately — the 49ers are not a playoff team. They aren’t an obstacle in Detroit’s path. The Vikings are, and they’ll head to Detroit in Week 18 for a game with stakes that Monday was missing.
“This is what you’re in it for,” Campbell said. “You couldn’t write a better scenario. You couldn’t come up with this. The fact that both teams are sitting at 14-2, and it’s for the division and the top seed, it just doesn’t get any better than this. This is fairy-tale stuff.”
There’s a cruel and very real scenario in which the Lions — amid their best regular season in franchise history — could finish with 14 wins and go on the road to begin the playoffs. The winner of this game will finish 15-2 and clinch the NFC North and the conference’s No. 1 seed. The loser, however, will be the first team in NFL history to win 14 games and earn a playoff berth as a wild-card team.
Detroit will be the epicenter of the professional football world this week on “Sunday Night Football” to wrap up the regular season. The Lions have a chance to accomplish what they couldn’t a year ago: a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. It would make their path to the Super Bowl easier to envision, giving them time to rest up while playing in the comfort of Ford Field in the games leading up to it.
It remains to be seen what’s in store on Sunday. But as the regular season concludes, the Lions, once again, are set to give everything they have.
It’s all they know.
“It’s the type of game you dream of, man, when you’re growing up,” Sewell said. “These are the moments that you live for. Opportunities like this don’t come often. So with all that’s on the table, it’s time to put the ball down. Let’s go.”
(Top photo of Jared Goff shaking hands with Amon-Ra St. Brown after scoring a touchdown: Junfu Han / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
