Santa Clara, Calif. (95.7 The Game/WGR 550) - For the second time in five years, the San Francisco 49ers are heading to the Super Bowl.
After getting demolished by the Detroit Lions' offense in the first half, the 49ers secured a 17-point comeback in a 34-31 win on Sunday that secured an NFC Championship at Levi Stadium.
Detroit led 24-7 at the end of the first half, and will rue an out-of-character attempt to kick a field goal instead of going for the touchdown at that point.
It all changed coming out of the second half.
The 49ers wasted, what seemed like, a valuable chance for a touchdown thanks to a bad Brock Purdy miss of wide receiver Jauan Jennings, though it wouldn't have been possible without a crazy, one-handed grab by Jennings to move the chains earlier in the drive.
A Jake Moody 43-yard field goal made it a 14-point game, but it felt like a Lions response was inevitable.
Detroit continued churning out yards, working their way down to the 49ers' 36-yard line. But after runs of 6, 7 and 5 yards from running back David Montgomery, the Lions opted for a pass on first down. They got it to a 4th-and-2 after a third-down run for a couple yards by wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
That's where the game turned on a dime.
The 4th-and-2 attempt was a low, dropped ball by Lions wideout Josh Reynolds. That call from the Lions was far less egregious than the pass play that failed on first down. Before that third down run to St. Brown, they were running for 6.92 yards per-carry.
Then the 49ers mounted a rapid-fire comeback that had no business going down the way it did. After a 17-yard opener to wideout Deebo Samuel, Purdy and the 49ers quite literally had their prayers answered.
Purdy launched a 50-50 ball to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk that should clearly have been intercepted by Kindle Vildor. Instead, it bounced off his helmet and Aiyuk pounced on it. What should have been a second Purdy interception became a 51-yarder down to the Lions' 4-yard line.
After a loss of two yards for running back Christian McCaffrey and an incompletion to Aiyuk, Purdy went back to Aiyuk, splitting coverage for a touchdown.
But could they get a stop, after getting just two all game? Yes, and in heroic fashion.
On an inside handoff to Lions rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs, not the power back Montgomery, the 49ers got their long-needed turnover.
Tashaun Gipson Sr. came storming up the middle and jarred the ball loose. It popped right into the arms of Arik Armstead.
After a loss of one on a screen to tight end George Kittle, Purdy began enacting magic. He surveyed the field, saw nothing, then scrambled for 21 yards.
Two plays later, McCaffrey tied the game in just a span of 2:20.
After looking completely lost in the first half, the 49ers defense managed another stop on Detroit's next drive. Chase Young, who was terrible in the run game, got a first down stop on Montgomery. Then Gipson Sr. crunched Sam LaPorta on, what would have been, a clear first down.
Then on third down, another drop from Reynolds killed the Detroit momentum and the Lions elected to punt.
Purdy continued to pull rabbits out of hats. The drive began with, what should have, been a sack, but instead, Purdy ducked, rolled left, and found a toe-tapping Kyle Juszczyk for a first down.
After a couple chunk runs from McCaffrey, a 28-yard reception from Kittle got the 49ers inside Lions' territory. Two plays later, Purdy went scrambling again, this time to the Detroit 13-yard line.
Detroit's pressure eventually got to him, though, as the 49ers settled for a 33-yard field goal from Moody to take the lead at 27-24.
The Lions had a chance to respond, and it seemed like they might. However, it came down to another fourth down, this time at the 49ers' 30-yard line. Lions head coach Dan Campbell opted to go for it on 4th-and-3.
Goff, who started to look lost under pressure, couldn't find anyone.
Campbell, who didn't go for the 4th-and-3 to end the half, missed a pair of fourth down conversions in the second half.
That set up another drive of Purdy's life.
San Francisco worked to a 3rd-and-4 at the Detroit 49-yard line with 4:42 remaining. The game was teetering on a knife's edge, setting up for a Lions response.
Instead, once again, Purdy scrambled and took it down to the Detroit 28-yard line.
The next play, McCaffrey rumbled for 25 yards to the Lions' 3-yard line. And with his first touch of the game, running back Elijah Mitchell punched in the touchdown to put the 49ers up 34-24.
The Lions responded with a touchdown, but burned a timeout and had to lean on an onside kick to try and get the ball back with 56 seconds left. However, the Lions ended up touching the ball just a bit early before reaching the 10 yards needed before recovery. It wouldn't have mattered much, as the 49ers still recovered the onside kick to secure the win.
It was a 17-point comeback that happened in the blink of an eye, after it seemed like the 49ers may never be able to get a stop.
After a season in which the 49ers never completed a comeback, they have now completed two-straight when it's mattered most. And Purdy has been at the center of them, with heroic drives that most expected he wouldn't be able to complete.
The win allowed the 49ers to avoid historically depressing company along with the 1973-75 Oakland Raiders, the 1980-82 Dallas Cowboys, and the 2000-03 Philadelphia Eagles as the only teams to lose three-straight conference championship games.
Instead, they return to the Super Bowl for a rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks.
The main difference? It's will be Purdy under center for the 49ers this time around instead of Jimmy Garoppolo.
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