In a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship Game, the Detroit Lions beat the San Francisco 49ers 40-34 on Monday Night Football to improve to 14-2 on the season. This marked the first time since 1937 that a game had 10+ touchdowns scored and zero punts.
With this win under their belt, the Lions will face the Minnesota Vikings in the last week of the regular-season for the NFC North Divisional Crown and the number-one seed in the conference.
The quarterback play in this one was excellent. Detroit’s Jared Goff and San Francisco’s Brock Purdy combined for 690 total yards and seven total touchdowns. Purdy had a career-high 377 passing yards.
San Francisco rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall had a stellar performance with eight catches for 141 yards and a touchdown. He caught his second TD of the season to give the 49ers an early 7-0 lead. That was San Fran’s third opening-drive touchdown of the year.
Detroit Lions wideout Jameson Williams had a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown on Detroit’s first two drives of the game to cut the lead to 14-13.
Back into their bag of tricks for another touchdown: pic.twitter.com/1kam3ooITS
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 31, 2024
Niners quarterback Brock Purdy opened the contest nine for nine passing with 131 yards and three total touchdowns. His second-quarter rushing TD gave San Francisco a 21-13 advantage.
The first defensive stop of the night came late in the second quarter. The Lions, who are well-known for risky fourth-down attempts, failed to convert a 4th and 3, allowing San Francisco to take a 21-13 lead into halftime.
Detroit tight end Sam LaPorta caught his seventh touchdown pass of the year to tie the game 21-21 after a successful two-point conversion, but San Fran’s Deebo Samuel responded with his own five-yard touchdown reception to reclaim the lead 28-21.
Former Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa had two sacks in the matchup. His second sack in the third quarter forced a Lions field goal to bring the score to 28-24.
Detroit converted its second fourth-down attempt of the night for a touchdown to take its first lead of the game 31-28 with less than 30 seconds to go in the third quarter. That was wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown’s 12th touchdown reception of the 2024-25 campaign.
4th down touchdown to @amonra_stbrown 🙌#DETvsSF | 📺 ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/92occ08qYX
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 31, 2024
49ers kicker Jake Moody missed two field goals. The second would have tied things up 31-31 in the fourth quarter. Moody is three for six on field goal attempts in his last three games.
Detroit defensive back Kerby Joseph caught his league-leading ninth interception of the year midway through the final quarter – his second interception of the evening – to give the Lions possession up 34-28. This was Joseph’s third career multi-interception game.
Detroit second-year running back Jahmyr Gibbs had 163 total yards and a rushing touchdown. That TD late in the fourth quarter put this one out of reach.
After Brock Purdy left the game late with an injury, backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs orchestrated a touchdown drive to make the score 40-34 after a missed extra point. The scoring would end there as the Lions would recover the onside kick and hold on to win the game.
The loss will not affect the 49ers’ draft position. They are still slated to have the 11th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
