SANTA CLARA — In contrast to the frequency of the 49ers’ facing the Green Bay Packers in the postseason — 10 times since 1995 — their upcoming NFC Championship Game against the Detroit Lions has nothing in the way of recent history.
The top-seeded 49ers (13-5) are chasing their seventh Super Bowl appearance and first since 2019. The No. 3 Lions (14-5) visit Levi’s Stadium at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, and along with the Houston Texans are the only two franchises which have never appeared in the big game. The first Super Bowl was played following the 1966 season.
Detroit, playing before a raucous home crowd, held on for a 31-23 win in the other divisional game, a day after the 49ers rallied past the Packers to punch their ticket. It will be the Lions’ first NFC Championship Game appearance since 1992 when they lost 41-10 to Washington. It’s their only appearance in the title game in the Super Bowl era.
Jared Goff, the former Marin Catholic and Cal star, completed 30 of 43 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Lions, who needed a late interception by Derrick Barnes against Baker Mayfield to put the game away.
“I get to go back home a little bit and play in front of some friends and family,” Goff said in a postgame interview. “They’re a great team and it will be a great matchup.
The 49ers beat Green Bay 24-21 the other divisional game Saturday night to advance to their fourth title game in five seasons.
The Detroit area actually hosted the first Super Bowl the 49ers ever won following the 1981 season, a 26-21 win over the Cincinnati Bengals at the Pontiac Silverdome, which was the Lions’ home between 1975 and 2001 before the opening of Ford Field.
Houston came into being as a franchise in 2002. Detroit won four NFL Championship Games in the pre-Super Bowl era between 1935 and 1957 including a semifinal win before their last title that some of the more elderly Faithful will never forget.
The only post-merger playoff meeting was a forgotten classic in the divisional round on New Year’s Eve in 1983. Most of the attention on that season is focused on the following week, when the 49ers fought back from a 21-0 deficit only to lose 24-21 to Washington with the help of two highly controversial defensive penalties.
The previous week, the 49ers, favored by 7 1/2 points, escaped with a 24-23 win over Detroit when place kicker Eddie Murray missed a 44-yard field goal to the right as time expired. It wasn’t a particularly well-played game — similar for the 49ers to their win Saturday night over the Packers — but it was an exciting one.
The Lions outgained the 49ers 412 to 291 and Billy Sims gained 114 yards on 20 carries. The 49ers, however, intercepted five passes against Gary Danielson, who started for the injured Eric Hipple. Trailing 23-17, Joe Montana hit Freddie Solomon for a 14-yard touchdown pass with 1:23 remaining.
The Lions coach, Monte Clark, was the 49ers coach in 1976 but after the DeBartolo family purchased the 49ers, he was stripped of his personnel authority in favor of new general manager Joe Thomas. Clark resigned rather than accept a pay increase to stay.
In the 1957 game, the 49ers led 27-7 but succumbed to a furious comeback engineered by quarterback Tobin Rote and lost 35-27 at Kezar Stadium. Detroit went on to blow out the Cleveland Browns 59-14 for the NFL Championship.
Here are this week’s top storylines:
KITTLE OVER THE MIDDLE. #GBvsSF on FOX
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— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 21, 2024
1. How’s Deebo
The 49ers’ three-game losing streak coincided with Samuel being lost early due to a hairline shoulder fracture in a Week 6 loss to Cleveland, followed by defeats against Minnesota and Cincinnati — both of which he missed. He is currently being evaluated for a shoulder injury after playing just nine snaps against the Packers. Left tackle Trent Williams was out against the Vikings and Bengals as well and hobbled against Cleveland, but Samuel’s absence was clearly felt. Coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t sugarcoat what Samuel’s loss meant against Green Bay. “It is a huge challenge. Deebo’s obviously one of our better players, but he also is a unique guy that goes to some certain spots, so you got to you got to be adjusting that all game,” Shanahan said.
2. Jared Goff homecoming
Goff was angry as a 9-year-old when the 49ers passed on Aaron Rodgers in favor of Alex Smith in the 2005 NFL Draft. He was a 49ers and Joe Montana fan and wanted his local team to select the local college player. When Goff was traded from the L.A. Rams to Detroit in favor of Matthew Stafford in 2021, it looked like a dump job to a hopeless franchise. But Goff has thrived with the Lions since the arrival of coach Dan Campbell and even beat the Rams and Stafford 24-23 in the divisional round to set up a title game against the NFL team of his youth.
3. Championship game blues
For a franchise that owns five Super Bowl rings and won the NFC Championship seven times, there’s a lot of confetti and ecstasy. But there’s also been agony. Most recently was Brock Purdy’s elbow injury last season against Philadelphia, a circumstance that made the 2023 season a crusade to get to the title game again — only this time with the top seed and a first-round bye. There was also Jaquiski Tartt’s dropped interception in a 20-17 loss to the Rams after the 2022 season and a 7-11 record in NFC title games overall. Included were Kyle Williams’ issues fielding punts in a 20-17 overtime loss to the Giants in 2011, back-to-back gut shots against Dallas in 1992 and 1993 and the 15-13 loss to the New York Giants in 1990 that ruined a “three-peat.”
4. Purdy — the comeback kid
Purdy delivered when it mattered most on the 49ers’ final drive against the Packers, a 69-yard, 12-play drive in which he completed 6 of 7 passes — with the one incompletion a flat-out drop by George Kittle. The overanalysis this week will include grave concern about how Purdy looked so shaky at times before coming up big in the final drive. Purdy did get a break in that two potential interceptions were dropped, one by Darnell Savage that could have been a pick six, and another by Keisean Nixon. But it was another important box to check for Purdy, who should he win an NFC title against Detroit, will have just one more to go before joining the Montana-Steve Young club with the 49ers.
5. Kittle vs. LaPorta
Sam LaPorta, a rookie second-round draft pick, is the latest out of the Iowa assembly line of tight ends that includes Kittle as a charter member. Both players were named to the Pro Bowl. LaPorta had 86 receptions (an NFL rookie record) for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns for Detroit, potential Offensive Rookie of the Year numbers in any year that doesn’t include Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud and Rams wideout Puka Nacua. Kittle didn’t miss a game until Week 18 with back spasms and had one of his best seasons with 65 receptions for 1,020 yards and six touchdowns. He added four catches for 81 yards against Green Bay and had a 32-yard scoring pass from Purdy to open the scoring. LaPorta had nine catches for 65 yards against Tampa Bay.
LAST MEETING
In the 2021 regular season road opener, the 49ers beat the Detroit Lions 41-33. The reason most 49ers fans remember it is it was a breakout game for Samuel, who caught nine passes for 189 yards and a touchdown. His 79-yard score on a sideline pass from Jimmy Garoppolo on third-and-8 put the 49ers 38-10 with 8:08 left in the third quarter. The reason Shanahan will always remember it is how the 49ers nearly squandered such a huge lead. Detroit actually had the ball and was in position to tie until the Lions gave up the ball on downs with 17 seconds to play. It’s one of the reasons Shanahan is reluctant to empty the bench when even when leads appear safe.
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SERIES HISTORY
The 49ers lead 39-28-1. They won the last meeting on the road, and also on September 16, 2018, a 30-27 win at Levi’s Stadium. Matt Brieda rushed for 138 yards on 11 carries and had a 66-yard touchdown run for a 27-13 lead with 52 seconds left in the third quarter. The defense withstood a 347-yard passing day from Detroit’s Matthew Stafford. Just the two playoff meetings following the 1957 and 1983 seasons.
HEALTH CONCERNS
49ers
WR Deebo Samuel (shoulder)
RB Christian McCaffrey (calf)
DT Arik Armstead (foot, knee)
DE Clelin Ferrell (knee)
TE George Kittle (back)
LB Dre Greenlaw (Achilles)
S Tashaun Gipson Sr. (quadriceps)
S Ji’Ayir Brown (knee)
G Jon Feliciano (back)
Lions
LB Alex Anzalone (shoulder)
DB Brian Branch (knee)
LB James Houston (ankle)
S Kerby Joseph (knee)
TE Sam LaPorta (knee)
C Frank Ragnow (knee/back)
WR Kalif Raymond (knee)
