The Detroit Lions incredible 2023 season has come to an end in the NFC Championship game. The Lions couldn’t hold onto a 24-7 halftime lead and fell in San Francisco to the 49ers, 34-31.
From the precipice of appearing in the first Super Bowl in franchise history to the stinging defeat of losing out after roaring out to an early lead.
The fast start was fantasic
The Lions, as they like to do, took the ball first. They did not waste the opportunity.
Jameson Williams raced through the 49ers defense on the fourth play of the game for a quick touchdown to seize the lead. The Niners followed up with a drive that stalled and ended in a missed field goal from rookie kicker Jake Moody. Detroit marched 62 yards in 11 plays for a David Montgomery touchdown and it was 14-0 Lions before the end of the first quarter.
Seizing the early momentum was a big part of the game script for several Lions road wins this year, and doing it in the NFC Championship game made it feel like it was just another road game for Dan Campbell’s team.
The third quarter curse hit hard
The 49ers needed an emphatic third quarter to dig out of the 24-7 halftime hole. Thet did just that — with some help from the Lions, who once again fell victim to their wretched third-quarter curse.
It cannot be proven that there’s a curse. But if there was ever evidence of the supernatural forces conspiring against the Lions, it came on a play where 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk caught a deep throw on a ricochet off the facemask of Lions corner Kindle Vildor. From potential interception to a 51-yard gain that set up a short TD throw from Purdy to Aiyuk.
On Detroit’s very next offensive play, Jahmyr Gibbs fumbled away a handoff he never really secured. The Niners recovered and quickly scored. In the blink of a witching eye, it was 24-24. Just for good measure, Josh Reynolds dropped one pass on a 4th-and-2 conversion that hit him in both hands and dropped another on a third down where he would have had a substantial gain.
San Francisco gained 170 yards to Detroit’s 42 in the third quarter and scored all 17 points. Just for good measure, the Niners took the lead by kicking a field goal at the 10-minute mark in the fourth quarter on a drive that began in the third, too.
Cursed by an appalling lack of execution and bad luck. It’s the Lions’ third quarter in a nutshell.
Missed opportunities
This was the other prevailing theme of the second half for Detroit. Giving up the biggest comeback in the history of the NFC Championship round doesn’t happen without a lot of self-inflicted wounds.
There were the aforementioned Josh Reynolds drops. I thought the decision to go on the fourth down from the San Francisco 30-yard line was the right one. It’s a potential kill shot if Reynolds catches the ball, and it’s not a sure-thing field 48-yard field goal for Badgley. The second drop was the truly painful one because it was a great play call by Ben Johnson, a great throw by Goff and would have been the perfect answer to stop the negative momentum.
Missed tackles were in an unfortunate abundance. Ifeatu Melifonwu missed what looked like an easy sack. Kerby Joseph forgot to wrap up and gave up some extra yards. Romeo Okwra couldn’t end one play, and Kindle Vildor blew another.
Special teams didn’t help either. A booming Jack Fox punt had a perfect bounce to pin the 49ers inside their own 1-yard line, but Chase Lucas put his feet in the end zone and gave them a touchback instead.
3 stars of the game
3rd star: LB Malcolm Rodriguez – 1 INT, 1 TFL, 6 total tackles
2nd star: WR Jameson Williams – 1 carry for a 42-yard TD, 2 catches for 25 yards and another TD
1st star: David Montgomery – 15 carries for 93 yards and a TD
Honorable mentions to Jared Goff for an overall impressive game and Sam LaPorta
Quick hits
Keeping these short and sweet…
–Loved the use of 6 OL and the power running package in the second quarter. Wondering why we saw it once (based on the NFL playbook postgame) in the second half because it was working very well.
–Felt like Brock Purdy got emboldened to use his legs when Ifeatu Melifonwu failed to bring him down on the potential sack.
–Lack of experience played more of a role in the handling of the second half adversity
–Running Montgomery near the end zone at the end of the game was a bad, bad decision. The burnt timeout was quite costly.
–Jameson Williams had a very strong performance in the game, the kind of game that a young player striving for consistency and confidence can build off going forward
–For all the consternation about Clete Blakeman as the referee, the officials did not make themselves part of the game.
–Thought Penei Sewell played very well against one of the best pass rush attacks in football. Really the whole line fared well in pass pro, but Sewell stood out.
–So darn proud of what this team did and how we got to witness it, and I’m going to try and hold onto that through the bitterness of the loss