49ers 34, Detroit 31
There haven't been a whole lot of big 49er comebacks in their storied playoff history. Usually, and especially of late, they get ahead and stay there, or they win a pitched battle from start to finish. Yes, they overcame a 17-0 first-quarter lead to beat the Falcons in Atlanta in the 2012 NFC Championship, but that comeback began in the second quarter and by halftime it was a game again. No, this back-from-the-dead 27-point second-half eruption is truly unprecedented. The only other 49er playoff game it truly resembles is the 1957 NFL Western Conference playoff, in which the Niners memorably blew a 24-7 halftime lead and lost, 31-27... to the Detroit Lions. What goes around, comes around, even after 66 years.
Whew! Well, it was both exhilarating and a great relief. Seeing this team "roar back" with 17 quick third-quarter points to tie a game that seemed all but lost, then take full control of game and clock in a punishing fourth quarter that ended in delirious celebration, is tempered by the memory of those first 30 minutes, when the Lions pushed the 49ers around all over the field with their breakaway running game and a run-stuffing defense, enough so that at halftime it seemed almost a blessing that it was "only" 24-7. But after all, it is how you finish, not how you start, that matters.
And so the San Francisco 49ers head off to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, their eighth 'Bowl, with a chance to tie New England and Pittsburgh with a record sixth Lombardi. They got there by keeping their poise against a tough young team that beat them up early, and if there's a reigning champion of poise, it is quarterback Brock Purdy. Yes, "Mister Irrelevant" has led his team to the Super Bowl, overcoming the skeptics, his own mistakes, and two tough defenses, not to mention two first-round QBs including a Number One pick.
The play that turned this game around came at 5:17 of the third quarter with the Lions leading 24-17. Jahmyr Gibbs, the rookie from Alabama who had already scored one touchdown and set up another with his elusive running, fumbled the handoff from Jared Goff. Arik Armstead recovered the loose ball at the Detroit 24, and the game belonged to the 49ers from that point on.
A minute later, on second-and 11, Purdy scrambled away from the pressing defense, then ducked, dodged, and dived his way 21 yards down the field to the Lion 4. Two plays later Christian McCaffrey was in the end zone with his second touchdown, and despite the 24-24 score it was clear who was in charge of this game.
The defense immediately responded, holding Detroit to its first three-and-out, and Purdy then led a 7-minute drive down to the Lions 13, already well into the fourth quarter. Detroit's only two sacks of the game stopped the drive and Jake Moody atoned for an earlier missed kick by nailing a 33-yarder for San Francisco's first lead.
Much has been made of Lions coach Dan Campbell's aggressive go-for-it strategy, and how two second-half fourth-down attempts, both in 49er territory, failed and ultimately resulted in 49er touchdowns. But that is a big part of what got the Lions to this game in the first place, and Campbell can hardly be faulted for staying with it.
Having reached the 49er 30 halfway through the final period, Goff, who had a fine game himself, was forced to run for his life and throw the ball away on fourth down thanks to relentless pressure from Nick Bosa and Chase Young. Turnover on downs. The Lions chose to die on that hill, and they did.
Taking over on their own 30, the 49ers put the game away with two big, spectacular runs. First it was Purdy, another 21-yard dash through the open middle of the field on third-and-4. Then McCaffrey barreled his way down the right sideline to the three-yard-line, shedding defenders as he went and finally landing hard on his head out of bounds. He retired for the day, and in came Elijah Mitchell. He promptly scored the touchdown that made it 34-24 with three minutes to play, and Detroit was left with a long and costly 75-yard drive, Goff completing seven straight short passes at one point. Costly, because Campbell made his one genuine blunder by calling a run at the 49er 3 that was stuffed and cost his team a precious timeout with 56 seconds left.
Detroit scored, on Goff's first touchdown pass of the day, but the Lions never got the ball back. Purdy, taking the final kneeldown, leaped for joy as the clock ran out, holding on to the game ball as the exhausted but exhilarated crowd gave him a standing ovation.
Bright moment: Brandon Aiyuk's spectacular 51-yard "ladybug catch" at the Detroit six-yard line. A perfectly-thrown and -led deep pass from Purdy looked to be intended for defender Kildon Vidor, primarily because he had interfered with Aiyuk at the 20. As the penalty flag flew, Vidor leaped for and tipped the ball, which ricocheted off his facemask as he fell. Aiyuk, following, managed to keep his balance and to catch the ball, and was barely touched before he tumbled to the turf, then bounced up and into the end zone. For the first time in memory, the officials didn't even bother to consider whether the interference call would be refused-- they just announced that they'd picked up the flag. Two plays later Aiyuk got his touchdown catch on a perfect Purdy pass. After the game he credited his success, and the circus-style play, to a good-luck ladybug he'd spotted crawling on his shoe. This young man has a future in the entertainment business.
The stat line shows this game was about as even as it could be, with similar totals in first downs, passing yards, rushing yards, sacks, turnovers, and third down conversions. There were only five total penalties, none of them significant (thankfully, Aiyuk's catch saw to that). Looking closely, we're reminded that when turnovers happen is just as significant as whether they happen. And looking closer, we're reminded of Bill Walsh's adage that a successful running game in the fourth quarter is key to winning in the NFL. Fourth-quarter rushing yards: San Francisco 76, Detroit 14.
And, of course, waiting on the other side of the ball in Vegas will be the Kansas City Chiefs, who thoroughly outplayed the snakebit Baltimore Ravens for the AFC title. Yes, it's a rematch, Kyle Shanahan's team against Andy Reid's, and given the way this postseason has gone for the 49ers so far, it's likely to be a thriller.
NFC divisional playoff
49ers 24, Green Bay 21
Few, we trust, were surprised with the way Brock Purdy kept his composure, picked up his team, and "game-managed" a brilliant second-half comeback Sunday. Those who were evidently were absent the previous Saturday when he led the first fourth-quarter last-minute do-or-die comeback of his young career. Struggling with his accuracy, and with the Green Bay Packers' surprising defense, and with a steady winter rain, and without Deebo Samuel, who left early with a bad shoulder, Purdy had endured a desultory first half and his team was in the game only because of its stout defense.
Trailing 21-17 with just over six minutes to play, facing another hungry young team on a roll through the playoffs, Purdy took over the game. He calmly and confidently completed six of seven passes as the 49ers marched 70 yards in five and a half minutes to the winning touchdown. The play of the game was Purdy's heads-up nine-yard scramble down to the Packers 6 on second-and-11 with barely a minute left. The play seemed to take forever-- in point of fact it ate up 44 precious seconds-- as Purdy weaved left, then right, looking for receivers, then broke out of the backfield into the open and angled down toward the left pylon, staying in bounds after he was hit.
McCaffrey scored on the next play and Green Bay's last-minute comeback attempt was snuffed out by Dre Greenlaw's interception of Jordan Love who, like Purdy, is completing his first full year as a NFL starting quarterback and looking good at it.
It's startling to realize that Green Bay, with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, was the NFC's top playoff seed just two years ago. This is a completely different and much younger Packer team, and they're back in the hunt after missing the playoffs for just one season.
Another reason for the 49ers to spend it all now-- the competition is closing in.
