The Key Plays that Cost the Detroit Lions a Trip to Super Bowl LVIII
After an astonishing first half by the Detroit Lions, the San Francisco 49ers fought to come back from a 24-7 deficit. The Lions did everything right in the first half. Their run game dominated through Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery along with big stops on defense. It looked like the Lions were one-half away from their first Super Bowl appearance until it all fell apart.
The first key play that shifted the momentum was what could have been an interception by Detroit, and turned into a massive catch by Brandon Aiyuk. Brock Purdy threw a deep ball downfield and it looked like an interception at first. Unfortunately, the ball bounced off Kindle Vildor’s helmet and right into the hands of Brandon Aiyuk. This set up San Francisco for a touchdown to close the deficit to seven points.
Photo Credit: Ezra Shaw
After a huge drive by San Francisco, it felt like the game was within reach for them. The crowd was alive and anything Detroit attempted to do was not working. The Lions received the kickoff, and their first play was a run up the middle. What should have been simple, was a botched hand-off to Jahmyr Gibbs, and turned into a fumble recovered by the defense, in Detroit’s territory. This set up Christian McCaffrey to score his second touchdown of the game. With that touchdown, the game was also tied 24-24.
Brock Purdy also decided to become a running back in the second half. Original concerns about Detroit’s secondary leaving players like Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle with too much space. However, when Detroit covered well, Purdy took off for multiple massive runs downfield. For a defense putting all of their effort in to make a stop, it would be exhausting for the unexpected Brock Purdy to put the wheels on and run.
Photo Credit: Thearon W. Henderson
With Detroit looking, nervous, silent, and having no momentum, all they could do was stick to what they had done all season, right? Head Coach Dan Campbell has been known to go for it on fourth down as they have had the highest success rate doing this all season. This had the chance of shifting the momentum back in Detroit’s favor. Two key fourth down plays that could have been a field goals, were not executed well at all. Josh Reynolds had a huge drop on their first fourth-down attempt, which then gave the ball back the San Francisco. On their second fourth-down attempt, Jared Goff threw a short ball while under pressure.
Photo Credit: Ezra Shaw
Some might argue that Detroit should have taken the points and I’m sure most would agree. With no momentum, should Detroit have just taken the points? That may be a fair question for most teams, but Detroit has shown that is who they are all year, and it is a part of the reason they made it this far. As far as their second half collapse goes, they should have been just as aggressive as they were in the first half. The Lions struggled running the ball in the second half, they also had key drops, turnovers, and mistakes that cannot happen in the NFC Championship game. It was a fun ride for Detroit. Despite this devastating loss, the Lions have built a long-lasting culture and have the talent to accomplish something special in the future.
Photo Credit: Rick Osentoski
