Road to the Bowl: San Fransisco 49ers

Marc Tavernese

He/Him

Staff Writer

2/10/24

After all of America seemed to lose hope on the Super Bowl as the Chiefs upset the Ravens, they all looked towards the only other hope they had left, The Detroit Lions. The Lions were on a historic run as they had won their first playoff win in 1992 but beat Matt Stafford’s Los Angeles Rams in a revenge game, ended the Bucs’ run in the divisional, and now were one win away from going to the Super Bowl for the first time in the modern era. It was already an accomplishment that they made the NFC Conference Championship game, as they had gotten farther than the Dallas Cowboys have gotten since their 90’s dynasty; Mind you folks, the Lions had an 0-16 season during this stretch, and the Cowboys have not been able to get past the divisional round. Speaking of that game, hey Dallas, HOW BOUT’ DEM COWBOYS?!

The Lions had to face the most dominant team in the NFC the entire season that was just a little bit better than them, the San Francisco 49ers. Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffery, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Nick Bosa, Chase Young, and so many more stars on this team, it’s pretty understandable why they got the 1st seed this season and it shows when they’re on the field. For Purdy, this is his chance to capture his first ring, and show that even the last person picked in the NFL draft can win a Super Bowl. 

The questions from critics surrounding him being good due to his position under Kyle Shanahan’s great quarterback development system remind many of the argument that Brady was a system QB. While nowhere near as good as Brady yet, he has plenty of time to prove it,, and after we can only see if he ends up a fluke like former Philadelphia Eagles backup QB Nick Foles (This won’t likely happen). This team hasn’t won a Super Bowl since the 90’s, their last appearance being against Mahomes and the Chiefs in 2019, which they unfortunately lost in a close 31-20 affair.

The game started with the Lions pulling out to a 24-7 lead after the 1st half, and fans across the US watched in amazement at the fact that the Detroit Lions could head to the Super Bowl. Jahmyr Gibbs was having a great game, having 1 touchdown, as well as his mentor and RB1, David Montgomery who also had a rushing TD on the day so far. Sam LaPorta, the Lions TJ Hockenson replacement from Iowa, was on pace for a 100-yard receiving game, beating out WR1 and Jared Goff’s go-to Target, Amon-Ra St. Brown. But, knowing their luck and their suspect defense, it would all collapse from there.

CMC, who is currently in the MVP race, and for good reason running for almost 1,500 yards and averaging 5.4 yards a carry, began finding the holes in the Lions’ defensive line and went on to bring the 49ers two more scores. The 49ers would soon tie it up in the 3rd, going on a 17-point run and holding the Lions scoreless. During that 3rd quarter also, Brandon Aiyuk, WR2 for the 49ers would continue to show his abilities with a crazy deflect and grab and then a passing TD from Brock Purdy the play after.

With some unfortunate gametime calls by head coach Dan Campbell, the Lions would ruin their chances to ever gain the lead again after falling 27-24 and losing in the end by a field goal, 34-31. A devastating ending for such an amazing season. Dan Campbell’s aggressive strategies would cost them the game and knowing that he is that style of a head coach, you wonder if he would do it again. Sometimes it’s a smart move to go for it on 4th down, such as if you’re on the other side of the field, and rather give the opposing team a poor field position than punt and give them the chance to return it. What’s not smart is going for it with the game tied late, and not taking the field goal to tie it up and force overtime, where your offense, if Jared Goff doesn’t choke on a deep throw, can score and seal a trip to the Super Bowl. 

But Lions fans can hope for a brighter future than they’ve ever had, seeing how far they went and the worries on defense being somewhat an easy fix with the upcoming draft.

Now, the 49ers must go head-to-head against a familiar foe, their 2019 NFC rival, the Chiefs at the Super Bowl LVIII.