The Lions had little to gain by winning Monday night, other than staying sharp. They went all out and won just the same, 40-34 in San Francisco.
Next: a Sunday night showdown with the Vikings for the division and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
Detroit's offense was up to its usual tricks against the 49ers. Jared Goff threw three touchdowns including a hook-and-ladder that went from Amon-Ra St. Brown to Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 117 yards and a touchdown and the Lions scored at least 40 points for the sixth time this season.
The star on defense was safety Kerby Joseph, whose two interceptions in the second half gave him an NFL-best nine on the season and erased an otherwise poor performance by Detroit's defense. He snared his second by reading the eyes of Brock Purdy and jumping a pass to Ricky Pearsall.
The Lions did struggle to stop the 49ers' depleted offense, with Purdy finding receivers open down the field throughout the game. San Francisco piled up 400 yards through the air and did not punt.
But the Lions didn't punt themselves, and made the plays they needed to in the second half to head home with the win.
St. Brown had a typically strong game, including a touchdown catch on fourth down that gave the Lions their first lead of the night late in the third quarter. It was St. Brown's career-high 12th touchdown grab of the year, tied for second in the NFL.
Win or lose Monday night, the Lions would have been looking at a winner-take-all clash with the Vikings in the season finale. Dan Campbell still played all of his healthy starters from start to finish, wanting his team to keep its edge heading into the biggest game of the year -- and to exact a little revenge for last year's NFC title game.
"It was personal for us," Goff told ESPN after the game. "These guys knocked us out last year, on this field, and we wanted to make a statement and win this game. That’s just the way we are. We don’t know any other way. It starts with our head coach."