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4 winners, 2 losers from Lions’ 40-34 victory over San Francisco 49ers

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In their revenge win against the 49ers, winning 40-34, who stepped up and who didn’t for Detroit?

In what many considered a meaningless game for the Detroit Lions, it wasn’t meaningless to them. This team has been on a mission this season to right the wrongs of last year, defend their divisional title, and try and reach the Super Bowl. Before the NFC North is decided in Week 18, Detroit had to take a little trip out west to get revenge on one final team to complete their revenge tour of 2024. That team was the San Francisco 49ers.

Despite being closer than what everyone wanted it to be, Detroit took down the 49ers, winning 40-34. The Lions had a rough first half, down 21-13 and looking lifeless on defense, it seemed like an upset was in the making. Instead, the defense made two big turnovers in the second half to boost the team to victory. Check out my winners and losers in the win against the 49ers.

Winners

Jameson Williams

Another big week for the third-year wide receiver. Williams continues to make big plays for this team, whether it’s on the ground or through the air. After failing on his first rushing attempt, which looked like a possible trick play pass for Williams, he scored on the second carry to get the touchdown. Later in the second quarter, the hook and ladder returned, but this time it was wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to Williams, who took it 44 yards for the touchdown.

The Lions are fun as hell

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— CJ Fogler (@cjzero.bsky.social) December 31, 2024 at 9:06 AM

Williams finished the game with 77 yards on five catches and is now just 33 yards away from his 1,000-yard goal for the season. The plays they designed for him to get open and use his speed are fun to watch. They know what they have in him and want to use his best ability when they can.

Jahmyr Gibbs

While the passing offense struggled early on against this tough secondary, the bright spot was running back Jahmyr Gibbs. Gibbs was making some big plays for this team. He provided a spark the offense needed when things weren’t looking good. His ability to make people miss, and cut around players is impressive. Gibbs finished with 18 carries for 117 yards, a touchdown, and four catches for 46 yards.

Despite being the lone star running back in the backfield, Gibbs does his job, carrying the load for the ground game. I love how they use him as a receiver too because his route running is impressive and when he gets in an open field, he makes plays. Gibbs will continue to be a threat for years to come for this team, no matter if he is the lone back, or in a running back duo.

Sam LaPorta

After a dominant rookie season, tight end Sam LaPorta has had a bit of a sophomore slump. Not that he has played poorly, he just hasn’t gotten as many opportunities with the surge of Williams in the passing game, and Gibbs being used as a receiver more. LaPorta has returned to be one of quarterback Jared Goff’s favorite targets lately. He came up with six catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. LaPorta coming up big late in the season is a nice wrinkle for this team to give their opponents more reasons to worry and perhaps lack on the coverage on the receivers to give more attention to LaPorta.

Kerby Joseph

The defense struggled mightily against the 49ers, and while the offense did its job for the most part, they needed help. They got it from safety Kerby Joseph. Joseph had two huge interceptions for Detroit, which ended up being the biggest difference in this game. He now leads the NFL in interceptions with nine, and has had a tremendous season.

Losers

Defensive line

The 49ers were playing with a fourth-string left tackle, and two backup guards and it didn’t seem to matter for the Lions defensive line. 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy had all day to passon the majority of his throws, and he was nearly perfect in the first half with just two incompletions and a perfect passer rating. He would finish the game going 27-for-35 for 377 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions, getting sacked twice. One sack was by defensive lineman Myles Adams, while the other was a blitz from safety Brian Branch.

The 49ers ground game was having some success as well, despite starting fourth-string running back Isaac Guerendo. The 49ers had 18 carries for 75 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 4.2 yards a carry. Purdy and backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs were the lone players to find the end zone on the ground. This was the best chance for the Lions’ defensive line to show out and they didn’t impress.

Pass coverage

No matter who was in coverage, the Lions couldn’t figure out what to do against the 49ers offensive weapons. Safeties, cornerbacks, and linebackers all failed in coverage. Rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold got beat multiple times, his biggest was on a 40-yard pass on third-and-7 against rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall. If Arnold is struggling against a fellow rookie, I am nervous to see how he can do against Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson next week. Pearsall finished the game with a career-high eight catches for 141 yards and a touchdown.

He wasn’t the only person struggling in coverage, as returning linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin allowed a 40-yard pass of his own to Guerendo late in the second quarter that thankfully only led to a missed field goal by the 49ers. George Kittle had a great game for the 49ers too, getting eight catches for 112 yards. It seemed like Pearsall and Kittle were the main targets tonight and they kept getting open all night long. With multiple challenging wide receivers ahead in the playoffs, this secondary will have to get things squared away or else it could be a rough performance in January.

 

 

 

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