A pair of interceptions by Brock Purdy paired with two missed kicks by Jake Moody and only one defensive stop will do that.
The San Francisco 49ers received the opening kickoff and marched right down the field. Deebo Samuel continued his excellence as a kick returner with a 37-yard return.
Chris Conley caught his second pass of the season for 13 yards, and George Kittle added an 18-yard reception. Before you knew it, the 49ers were inside Detroit’s 10-yard line. Ricky Pearsall caught a touchdown from three yards out, in what felt like his first out-breaking reception of the season, to give San Francisco an early 7-0 lead.
Dan Campbell was not shy about saying that he’d play his starters. As expected, Detroit wasted little time making their way into 49ers territory and the red zone.
Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 21 yards, and Craig Reynolds caught a pass out of the backfield en route to a 26-yard gain. After a couple of stops on a goal-to-go situation, a reverse to Jameson Williams led to the Lions’ first touchdown. Jordan Elliott blocked the extra point, preserving the Niners’ early lead of 7-6.
The 49ers knew they’d need to keep up the scoring. That was not a problem, as Pearsall, Kittle, and Isaac Guerendo each had double-digit gains on the ensuing drive before Kyle Juszczyk took a 9-yard pass from Brock Purdy to give the 49ers a 14-6 lead.
That drive took less than four minutes off the clock and only six plays for the offense to find the end zone. Detroit’s next drive didn’t last five minutes. The Lions had gains of 6, 6, 7, 15, and 6 before Nick Bosa was banged up. Bosa would be evaluated for a concussion but would return on the next drive. On 3rd & 12, Ben Johnson dialed up a hook and ladder, and Jameson Williams outran the 49ers 41 yards to paydirt.
The scoring did not stop there. Ricky Pearsall was the beneficiary of a 40-yard coverage bust on a nifty design by Kyle Shanahan. Purdy, after pump-faking, ran into the end zone untouched to give San Francisco an 8-point lead, 21-13.
The Lions were the first team not to score despite a 12-play drive that took five minutes off the clock. Detroit went for it on 4th & 3, but rookie Renardo Green read the play and broke up the pass.
That meant the 49ers would have another opportunity, with 1:13 to play. Guerendo caught a 40-yard pass down the field. Thanks to Jacob Cowing’s unnecessary penalty, Kittle had a big play called back. A 51-yard field goal by Jake Moody was wide right as his woes continued. That brought us to halftime, with the score 21-13.
Had Moody made the field goal, it would have been the most points the Lions had allowed in the first half all season. Brock Purdy was 14-16 in the first half for 200 yards and two touchdowns. One of those incompletions was a throwaway. He was 4-4 on throws over 10 yards for 112 yards. The 49ers were 3-3 in the red zone. They ran 31 plays and only had four third downs. That was arguably the best half of football the offense played in 2024.
Detroit would receive the ball to begin the second half. Unsurprisingly, they scored. Amon Ra-St. Brown caught a 13-yard pass to start the drive. On third down, Green had perfect coverage, but better offense beats better defense. Jameson Williams came down with a perfect throw from Goff. Then, Allen Robinson beat Isaac Yiadom for a gain of 21 yards. Sam LaPorta followed that up by beating Yiadom in the end zone, who would also allow the two-point conversion.
That made it 21-21. And if you thought the scoring would stop there, then you hadn’t been paying attention.
Jauan Jennings joined the party with a 13-yard gain to open the drive. Ricky Pearsall followed that up with a 39-yard reception. Pearsall became the first Niners rookie with 100 receiving yards and a touchdown in a game since Deebo Samuel did in 2019. Speaking of Deebo, he ran it in on a shovel pass for five yards to put the 49ers back up seven, 28-21.
The Lions looked like they would score again after they began the drive with a 28-yarder. Dee Winters was injured in the play. That’s been an issue all season for the young linebacker. Nick Bosa bailed that unit out with a sack on third down to force a long field goal. Unlike Jake Moody, the Lions kicker nailed it from 57 yards to make the score 28-24.
After Kittle drew a defensive pass interference, Purdy airmailed a throw over the middle to Pearsall. Kirby Joseph returned it to San Francisco’s 43-yard line. It was a pass that sailed on Purdy, which we have grown accustomed to this season. The 49ers could have taken control of the game but instead gave Detroit exactly what they needed.
Thanks to a Hufanga missed tackle, the Lions gained nine yards on the first play. They’d get inside the 49ers 5-yard line. Bosa, who had been the only defender to generate pressure to this point, made a play on third and goal. However, a coverage bust between Green and Deommodore Lenoir left a receiver wide-open to give Detroit a 31-28 lead.
The 49ers had an opportunity, but a trick play was snuffed out on first down, and an incomplete pass on second down to Juszczyk was high. Then, Purdy’s throw to Jennings was short and inside on third down. Moody’s 58-yard field goal was no good, and the Lions would have another short field.
The Lions converted a fourth down thanks to another coverage bust. A couple of incomplete passes by Goff saved the 49ers defense, and Bates would hit a 42-yarder to give Detroit a 34-28 lead.
The 49ers’ first sack of the game came at a bad time, as Purdy went down on the first down. Then, a game delay made it 2nd and 20. Pearsall saved the day. But an ineligible receiver down the field took an explosive play to Kittle off the board. Austen Pleasants had been rotating with Charlie Heck at left tackle.
After picking up a first down thanks to an unnecessary roughness that Jennings forced, Purdy threw his second interception of the evening. This time, he locked in on Pearsall, and Kerby Joseph read it the entire way.
The defense needed a stop, but they could not muster one. Gibbs raced around the edge for 30 yards, putting the game out of reach at 40-28. Purdy hurt his hand and left the game with under two minutes to play.
The 49ers put up over 450 yards of offense, but those two interceptions and two missed field goals were killers. Ultimately, those plays proved to be the difference in the game. It doesn’t help when your defense only gets one stop on nine drives. All in all, the 49ers proved they were not in the same class as the Lions.
For good measure, Moody missed the extra point after Josh Dobbs scored a touchdown.