Trailing by 17 at halftime, it seemed the San Francisco 49ers were destined to end their season with a third NFC Championship loss and a lot of heartache.
But then something crazy happened. Well a few something crazies, but they all converged in a 49ers comeback that was the largest in an NFL game in Championship history, and San Francisco beat the Detroit Lions, 34-21, and are going to Super Bowl 58.
“It’s just the character, the love, the brotherhood, it’s real,” said 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. “It’s the NFL. I guess you could say it’s a business, but guys care about each other in this locker room, what we’ve been through. We’ve got a core group of guys that have been here for the last couple years. The standard and culture that they’ve built, the guys that Kyle and [general manager] John [Lynch] brings in, everyone fits that mold. It showed tonight in a huge moment. If you’re down 17, you’ve got to care about each other, love each other to get a comeback going. I think we showed that tonight. I’m really proud of this group.”
So back to the crazy things.
With seven minutes left in the third quarter, the 49ers were down 24-10. The Lions had 4th-and-2 at the 49ers’ 28-yard line and elected to go for it, as opposed to attempting a 46-yard field goal. It was consistent with Lions’ head coach Dan Campbell’s thought, who was second in the NFL with 40 fourth-down attempts, but it backfired. Jared Goff threw not his best pass, but a catchable pass, and WR Josh Reynolds couldn’t come up with it.
Nick Bosa said that at halftime, he “was just trying to galvanize the group and there was so much football left. We could score really quick on offense. We just needed to get off the field so we could get our offense rolling.”
They got off the field and the offense started rolling, scoring 14 points in just under four minutes. It started with a remarkable catch by wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Purdy threw a deep pass that hit Detroit CB Kindle Vildor in his right arm to then bounce off of his helmet and somehow get into the waiting arms of Aiyuk for a 51-yard gain.
Big Play BA! @THE2ERA#DETvsSF on FOX
📱 NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh pic.twitter.com/vo86PIJWfd— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 29, 2024
“Yeah, it was lit,” Aiyuk said after the game.
Purdy said, “I heard the whole stadium erupt. I see B.A. curled up around the ball. Oh my gosh, he caught that.”
Three plays later, Purdy found Aiyuk in the end zone and the comeback was on. After that, Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs fumbled and Arik Armstead recovered at Detroit’s 24-yard line. That led to a one-yard Christian McCaffrey touchdown run and on the next possession, Jake Moody’s 33-yard field goal gave the 49ers a 27-24 lead with 9:56 left in the fourth.
“That’s back-to-back weeks with wins that we weren’t supposed to have apparently,” Aiyuk said. “Just two gutsy wins: two wins that just show you the type of team that we have, the mindset, the will and the heart that everybody had.”
Now the 49ers head to Las Vegas for Super Bowl 58 and a rematch with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. And Taylor Swift.
They’re eighth Super Bowl era is on deck.