49ers vs. Lions score: San Francisco comes back from 17-point deficit to punch 2024 Super Bowl ticket

San Francisco is Super Bowl bound, while Detroit blew a golden opportunity

The San Francisco 49ers are heading to the Super Bowl. They punched their ticket in dramatic fashion on Sunday, overcoming a 24-7 halftime deficit to post a 34-31 win over the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship Game. 

The 49ers will now face the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII, which will be played on Sunday, February 11 on CBS, Nickelodeon and Paramount+.

Like an avalanche, the 49ers scored 17 unanswered points in the third quarter. One of the biggest plays during that span was Brandon Aiyuk's incredible, 51-yard catch off a Lions defender's helmet that set up his own touchdown catch. It was one of five consecutive scoring drives by the 49ers, who received big second half efforts from Ayuik, Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, and Deebo Samuel, among others. 

The Lions dominated the first half, but it was a complete different story during the second half. Detroit's first four drives in the second half resulted in two turnovers on downs, a fumble and a punt. One of the Lions' biggest miscues over that span was Jaymhr Gibbs' fumble that set up the 49ers' game-tying touchdown. 

Here's a closer look at how the 49ers pulled off the incredible comeback. 

Why the 49ers won 

As big as the hole got in the first half, the 49ers never allowed it to become a ditch. They avoided that by forcing the Lions to settle for a field goal at the end of the first half. That was the start of their comeback. 

Kyle Shanahan told Fox's Erin Andrews that the 49ers needed to open the second half with a score, and that's exactly what they did. While it wasn't a touchdown, the field goal the 49ers got on the drive made it a two-score game while giving the home team some much-needed momentum. 

San Francisco's defense, after getting chewed up by the Lions' running game in the first half, then came up with a pivotal stop on fourth down on Detroit's first drive of the second half. Aiyuk's crazy catch shortly followed, and the comeback was officially on. 

On offense, the comeback was fueled by Purdy, McCaffrey and Samuel. Purdy shook off a bad first half with nearly flawless play during the second half. McCaffrey dominated on the ground and finished the night with 132 total yards and two touchdowns. Samuel, like Purdy, had a quiet first half but a monster second half. His 26-yard catch on the 49ers' second play of the second half was a preview of things to come. 

Defensively, the 49ers won nearly every weighty down in the second half that included two big fourth-down stops. Nick Bosa came up with two sacks and several other pressures of Jared Goff, who was clearly affected by the pressure.  

Why the Lions lost 

True to form, Dan Campbell coached a fearless game on Sunday, except for late in the first half with his team holding a 21-7 lead. Campbell, instead of going for it on fourth-and-goal at the 3, elected to take the three points and a 17-point halftime lead. 

Not going for it then may have compelled Campbell to go for it on fourth-and-3 with 8:24 left with the Lions down, 27-24, and at the 49ers' 30-yard line. At that point, it probably made more sense to try the game-winning field goal. But the Lions went for it and came up empty when Goff was unable to connect with Josh Reynolds. 

Speaking of misconnections, that, more than anything, was the reason why the Lions won't be playing in their first Super Bowl. Late in the first half, Goff missed Gibbs in the end zone on a play that should have extended Detroit's lead to 28-7. There were several similar situations in the second half where either Goff or his intended target were just off. 

We also can't ignore the Lions' running game going into hibernation after halftime. Detroit rushed for just 34 yards in the second half after rumbling for 148 yards in the first half. 

The offense came up short, but Detroit's defense did little to change the momentum when things started going south. They were especially bad when it came to keeping Purdy in the pocket. Purdy, not known for his mobility, made several huge plays with his legs during the 49ers' comeback. 

Turning point 

OK, this should probably go to Aiyuk and his jaw-dropping catch (more on that in a second). But the 49ers were still trailing at that point. 

Momentum completely shifted in San Francisco's favor moments later when Tashaun Gipson and Arik Armstead collaborated on Gibbs' fumble. The 49ers turnover the turnover into a game-tying touchdown four plays later. 

Play of the game 

It has to be Aiyuk's incredible catch that should go down as one of the greatest receptions in playoff history. It's right up there with David Tyree's helmet grab, Lynn Swann's levitating leap and Dwight Clark's reception that is known simply "The Catch" that birthed the 49ers' 1980s dynasty. 

Quotable 

What's next 

The 49ers will head to Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII, where they'll look to join the Steelers and Patriots as the only franchises to win six Super Bowls. San Francisco is also hoping to avenge its 31-20 loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV. 

Sunday's loss marks the end of an incredible season for the Lions, who won their first NFC North division crown before winning the franchise's first two playoff games in 32 years. 

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:55 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Brandon Aiyuk in his postgame interview with Erin Andrews: "Before the game, a lady bug landed on my shoe. And y'all know what that mean. That's all I can say. Because other than that, I don't know." 

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:51 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

The San Francisco 49ers are officially your NFC champions, and we are officially getting a Super Bowl LIV rematch. 

The Detroit Lions' season ends in the NFC title game, and they will have the No. 29 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:49 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

The Niners will have to snap the ball here but they can kneel on it and have the clock run out.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:45 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

George Kittle falls on the ball after a deflection and the Niners can essentially kneel out the clock. (It would have been illegal touching anyway.) San Francisco is headed back to the Super Bowl. They will meet the Chiefs, just like they did back in February 2020.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:42 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

You either can't run it there or you can't call a timeout. They got the TD on the next play, which is huge, but now the entire season comes down to the onside kick. Just a bad game-management mistake.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:41 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Well that is a HUGE mistake right there. Now the Lions had to burn a timeout, and they basically have to both score AND recover the onside kick or the game is over. Wow.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:39 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Wow it looked like Anthony Firkser had a clear runway to get into the end zone but he stepped out of bounds. That could cost the Lions valuable seconds, and obviously points as well.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:38 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Oh THAT ONE Josh Reynolds catches. Two easy drops earlier and he finally comes away with a big snag to get the Lions into scoring range.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:32 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

San Francisco's drives this half:

• 9 plays, 50 yards, FG
• 5 plays, 72 yards, TD
• 4 plays, 24 yards, TD
• 11 plays, 65 yards, FG
• 7 plays, 70 yards, TD

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:30 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

After the huge run by CMC, he gets a breather, and Elijah Mitchell gets an end zone trip. Niners up double digits. This will be a 24-0 run in the second half after the extra point.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:29 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

And there is Purdy's longest run of the year, again. There will be a TON of talk about fourth downs if the Lions lose this game, but their total inability to get a stop, especially on third downs, has been way more impactful.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:26 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Goff tried to throw back across his body on the run and didn't even come close. It looked like the Niners fooled them with the coverage look and then were able to force the incomplete pass with good coverage on the scramble drill. 

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:24 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

That's Amon-Ra St. Brown's first catch of the half. It's fourth-and-short again for the Lions. They're going for it.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:22 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Ambry Thomas, who was in defense on the play, stayed down on the field after the pass fell incomplete. Niners are getting thin at corner.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:20 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Oh boy. Missed opportunity for a TD there. If Williams can track the ball over his shoulder and come down with it, that's a score.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:19 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Jameson Williams caught that ball three times, I think. And it almost got intercepted in between.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:19 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

This is the first time the Lions have trailed all game. Their last three drives have ended with a turnover on downs, a fumble, and a punt. Let's see if they can put something together here. 

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:14 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Heck of a time for the Lions to pick up their first two sacks of the night. Niners in third-and-very-long, and obviously their kicker is nowhere near automatic.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:12 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Purdy has had two big scrambles for first downs here. He only had 15 of those all regular season.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:10 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

George Kittle hadn't made much of an impact in the passing game just yet, but he came up with a huge catch right there. Wide open for a big gain up the left sideline.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:08 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

The Niners outgained the Lions 181-42 and outscored them 17-0 in the third quarter.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:04 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

WHAT A PLAY BY PURDY

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:01 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

That's the second time Josh Reynolds was open for a first down and had the ball hit him in both hands, and he came away with zero catches on those two plays. Yikes.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 9:00 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Just one measurement but this is a wild swing.

[Jan 28, 2024 at 8:55 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

CMC walks into the end zone and the Niners are an extra point away from tying the game. What a turn of events.