2024-01-29 05:25:00
SUMMARY
The San Francisco 49ers were once once more given a scare, but here they are back in the Super Bowl following winning 34-31 over the Detroit Lions in the conference final on Sunday, following a second half punctuated by a spectacular rise.
Rookie kicker Jake Moody gave the Niners their first lead of the game by sending the ball between the posts 33 yards with 9:52 remaining.
Six minutes later, Elijah Mitchell scored a short rushing touchdown to put the Lions in great danger, following leading by 17 points.
This collection of 27 consecutive points, including 17 in the first twelve minutes of the third quarter, is a new demonstration of the great striking force represented by the 49ers, who will face the Kansas City Chiefs for the big honors on Sunday, February 11, at Las Vegas.
The latter scored a 17-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in the American final in the followingnoon.
“We played the worst first half possible, but we were still down 17 points,” said 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. The defense limited their offense in the second half and Purdy did the rest. »
We will therefore witness a replay of the 2019 edition of the Super Bowl, won by Kansas City on February 2, 2020.
Blanked for the first 29 minutes of the second half, the Lions offered some hope to their fans by getting within three points with 56 seconds left, the result of Jameson Williams’ second touchdown of the game.
However, the damage was already done, and the 49ers had the leisure to count down the remaining seconds.
“We’ve had some unfinished business for a while,” Shanahan added. It’s been a long year to get to this point and we got the job done today. It was tough at first, but the character that we have on the team, with the guys that we have, we can’t wait to get to Vegas for the Super Bowl. »
The 49ers blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead once morest the Los Angeles Rams in the National Finals two years ago.
The team might now win a sixth Super Bowl in its history and a first since 1994.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell has lived up to his reputation as a man who likes to bet big in tough game situations.
Certainly, Campbell will be called upon to justify his aggressive decisions on two fourth downs that Detroit was unable to convert.
The Lions, who have made a remarkable leap forward since a three-win 2021 season, will be sorry for letting this opportunity to play for the Vince-Lombardi Trophy slip away for the first time.
It was Moody who struck the first blow following the break, sending the ball straight into the center of the posts from 43 yards.
The Niners thus took a first step forward, coming back to two touchdowns, 24 to 10.
The Lions were then stopped in San Francisco territory on fourth down and short, confirming that the Californians had indeed taken their course.
The spectacular and dynamic Brandon Aiyuk provided the offensive spark the Niners were desperately looking for late in the third quarter.
The pass catcher followed the trajectory of the ball well, which hit his roofer’s protective helmet before ending up in his arms, leading to a 51-yard piece of field.
Two plays following this sensational, but also somewhat lucky, catch, Aiyuk completed a remarkable sequence by scoring the six-yard touchdown.
Detroit did nothing to calm the storm. Immediately following the restart, rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs was the victim of a fumble recovered by the Niners at the Lions’ 25 line.
Just two minutes later, the crowd favorites celebrated the tying touchdown, Christian McCaffrey’s second of the game.
Nothing to do in the 1st half
Starting the game with the ball, the Lions took the bull by the horns, and a 42-yard run by Jameson Williams for a touchdown gave them the lead following just 1:42 of play.
Two power runs from David Montgomery and a 14-yard catch from Sam LaPorta set the table for Williams’ explosive play.
Moody looked to give the Lions the first response a few minutes later, but his 48-yard attempt midway through the first quarter veered wide to the right of the posts.
Showing no complexes, the Lions took advantage of the advantageous positioning to continue with another methodical series, concluded this season by a one-yard run by Montgomery for an unexpected lead of 14-0.
San Francisco calmed the game down momentarily, courtesy of McCaffrey, whose brilliance brought the Niners’ offense to the goal gate.
It was this same McCaffrey who scored the major following gaining 43 yards during the push – the other important gain having been obtained by Kyle Juszczyk, author of a 23-yard catch.
In the company of the excellent Nick Bosa in defense, “ CMC » had turned out to be one of the few positive points of a very laborious first half.
After a less conclusive offensive series, Detroit resumed dominating the line of engagement with power runs.
This time, it was an interception thrown by Brock Purdy at midfield that gave the Lions the momentum needed to score a third touchdown before halftime.
A third different running back found the end zone, as rookie Gibbs scampered 15 yards following some slick feints to avoid tackles.
The only other points in the first half came with 7 seconds left when the Lions played it safe and sent Michael Badgley for a 21-yard field goal rather than going for fourth down and goals.
Purdy threw a touchdown pass for 267 yards. For his part, Goff completed 25 of 41 passes, for gains of 273 yards, with one touchdown pass.
Since Kyle Shanahan entered the NFL, his team has never lost in six playoff games when playing at home.
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