The 49ers are returning to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2019 season.
It was unexpected the way the first half went with the Lions taking a 24-7 lead into the locker room. The 49ers, though, scored 27 consecutive points in the second half and won 34-31.
It was the reverse of the 1957 postseason between the teams in San Francisco when the 49ers led the Lions 24-7 at halftime only to lose 31-27. It was the Lions’ last road playoff game.
It will remain the the Lions’ last road playoff win.
The Lions allowed 17 points in an eight-minute stretch of the third quarter. They turned the ball over on downs on fourth-and-two at the San Francisco 28 when Josh Reynolds dropped a perfect pass from Jared Goff, and they lost a fumble when Jahmyr Gibbs didn’t get a clean handoff and couldn’t secure it.
The Lions also went for it on fourth-and-three from the San Francisco 30 with 7:38 remaining, and Goff’s pass intended for Amon-Ra St. Brown was incomplete.
They scored their only points of the second half on a 3-yard, fourth-down pass from Goff to Jameson Williams with 56 seconds left. The Lions had to use one of their timeouts after running the ball on third down on the goal line.
George Kittle recovered the onside kick with 53 seconds left to end it.
The 49ers, who had only 131 yards in the first half, finished with 413 yards. The avalanche started innocently enough with a 50-yard drive that led to a 43-yard Jake Moody field goal.
From there, the 49ers just poured it on.
They scored on five consecutive possessions.
Brandon Aiyuk had a Lynn Swann-esque, 51-yard catch on a pass that bounced off the facemask of Kindle Vidor. Instead of an interception, Brock Purdy had a big play to the Lions 4 that led to a 6-yard Aiyuk touchdown catch.
McCaffrey had a 1-yard touchdown run, his second touchdown of the day, Jake Moody kicked a 33-yard field goal and Elijah Mitchell had a 3-yard touchdown run. That gave the 49ers a 34-24 lead with only 3:02 left.
Purdy finished 20-of-31 for 267 yards with a touchdown and an interception, with Deebo Samuel catching eight passes for 89 yards and Aiyuk three for 68. McCaffrey ran for 90 yards on 20 carries and caught four passes for 42 yards.
The Lions had 442 yards but didn’t get enough points with two punts, a fumble and twice turning it over on downs.
Goff was 25-of-41 for 273 yards and a touchdown. Sam LaPorta caught nine passes for 97 yards, and David Montgomery rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Gibbs had 12 carries for 45 yards and a touchdown, and Williams had a 42-yard touchdown run.