The Detroit Lions are participating in their first NFC Championship game since 1991 in addition to winning a playoff game this season. They won 31–23 over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, and they are currently on the road to play the San Francisco 49ers. The Lions can make their already fantastic season even better by defeating the best NFC club and making their Super Bowl debut.
The 49ers are the #1 seed for a reason, therefore they won’t be easy to beat. The Lions will have to travel for the first time this playoffs, but they have a very well-built and coached club. The upside is that, with this team so close to winning a Super Bowl, it will be difficult to keep the Lions supporters out of Levi’s Stadium on Sunday night. They have been a formidable touring force this season, packing stadiums around the nation.
Let’s get right into the Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers NFC Championship scouting report.
2023 season of the San Francisco 49ers (12-5)
Week 1: 30-7 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 2: 30–23 victory against the Los Angeles Rams
Week 3: 30-12 victory against the New York Giants
Week 4: 35-16 victory over the Arizona Cardinals
Week 5: 42-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys
Week 6: 19-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns
Week 7: Minnesota Vikings defeat, 22-17
Week 8: 31-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals
Week 9: Goodbye
Week 10: 34-3 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 11: 27-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 12: Seattle Seahawks victory, 31-13
Week 13: 42-19 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles
Week 14: 28-16 victory over the Seattle Seahawks
Week 15: Triumph overArizona Cardinals 45–29
Week 16: 33-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens
Week 17: Washington Commanders defeat, 27–10.
Week 18: Losing 21–20 against the Los Angeles Rams
NFC Wild Card: OUTthird in terms of both scored and allowed points
DVOA’s second place
first in offensive DVOA (first in run DVOA, second in throw DVOA)
defense DVOA ranking of fourth (4th pass DVOA, 15th run DVOA)
25th place for special teams
The 49ers are the top seed in the NFC this year, and it is obvious why after such an incredible season. Brock Purdy, the quarterback in his second year, avoided a sophomore slump, concluding the season with 4,280 yards, third in the NFL in touchdowns (31) and the highest QBR rating (72.8). Prior to the Ravens defeat, Purdy was a front-runner for MVP in the latter stages of the season.
NFC Divisional: 3-1 victory against the Green Bay PackersWith 75 catches for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk led the club in yards and catches, giving him plenty of support in the receiving department. Deebo Samuel, another wide receiver who helped Purdy out, concluded the season with 60 receptions for 892 yards and seven touchdowns. George Kittle, a tight end, finished the season with 65 receptions for 1,020 yards and six touchdowns. Kittle was in good health. The league’s top running back, Christian McCaffrey, is another option to support the attack as a whole. With 1,459 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground, he had the most yards in the NFL, but he was also very dangerous in the air, hauling in 67 passes for 564 yards and seven scores.touchdowns.
This team’s defense, which is among the greatest in the NFL, was another asset. Over the course of the season, additional players joined the fray, strengthening the defensive line. With 132 tackles, 11 pass deflections, six tackles for loss, four interceptions, four forced fumbles, and 2.5 sacks, Fred Warner topped the team in tackles. Dre Greenlaw leads the linebackers. With 120 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 4 pass deflections, and 1.5 sacks, Greenlaw behind him in the statistics.
The secondary presents a formidable opponent for the defense as well. The top cornerback for the 49ers is Charvarius Ward, who leads the club with five interceptions and 23 pass deflections. Deommodore Lenoir, who has ten pass deflections and three interceptions, is standing next to him.
Due to injuries, this 49ers club is just 12-5; prior to injuries, they were 5-0 going into Week 6. Following that, San Francisco had injuries to left tackle Trent Williams, Greenlaw, McCaffrey, and Samuel, which led to a three-game losing skid. The squad seemed unbeatable once more during the bye week and everyone returned healthy, but it didn’t last long until they played poorly against the NFL’s best team, the Ravens. With a game full of backups in Week 18, the 49ers concluded their regular season with a 12-5 record.
The 49ers are largely healthy going into the NFC championship game. Although there were a lot of players on their injury list last week, the majority were active participants, and I anticipate that this week as well. The depth on the line is hurt because the team did place defensive lineman Clelin Ferrell on injured reserve (IR) despite their best efforts to get him back for the playoffs. Jackson and Hufanga won’t be back this season either.
With a shoulder injury that forced him to leave the game against the Packers early and not come back, Samuel is the man to watch here. Head coach of the 49ers Kyle Shanahan stated on Monday that “it wasn’t broken.” That was thus very encouraging. Too much pain is still there for us to predict how it will stop hurting this week. Samuel might not play in this game, play very little, or even be a scapegoat. All bets are off, though, since it’s the playoffs.
Discuss depth. It’s unfair to compare the 49ers’ abundance of talent on defense to the other teams in the league. There are seven 49ers players that other NFL teams may start as starters. Of all the players to discuss, defensive end Nick Bosa is the most obvious and first. Along with 53 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and four pass deflections, he leads the club in sacks with 10.5.
Bosa is the primary target, but this defensive line has other intricate issues as well. The interior is then commanded by Arik Armstead and Javon Hargrave, two defensive tackles. In addition to his 44 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and two pass deflections, Hargrave also has seven sacks. Armstead has 27 tackles, four tackles for loss, and five sacks.
As the other edge, it was Ferrell before the injury, and with him out for the rest of the season, the depth starts to show for this 49ers team. Defensive end Chase Young is the new starter for them, and while he hasn’t been as explosive for the 49ers since the trade with the Commanders, he is still an issue for the Lions. This season, Young has 25 tackles, seven and a half sacks, seven tackles for loss, and two pass deflections.
There’s still more. Javon Kinlaw, a defensive lineman for the 49ers, also has 25 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and 3 pass deflections. Sebastian Joseph-Day, a defensive lineman with 36 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and three tackles for loss, was also claimed by the 49ers via waivers from the Los Angeles Chargers. Because the line can rotate people in and out, and because many players can step in and contribute to the team, this defense is as good as it is.
The offensive line is the 49ers’ biggest problem when it comes to offense. The NFL’s finest left tackle, Trent Williams, defends and shores up Purdy better than anyone else. The less striking aspect is the talent surrounding him. The speed with which Purdy can release the ball and the caliber of McCaffrey as a running back contribute to this offense’s success.
Right tackle Colton McKivitz and left guard Aaron Banks are the two individuals that are hurting this offensive line. I can’t fully agree with PFF when they say that Banks is the team’s weakest starting lineman. Banks has not given up a sack while giving up six penalties, 23 pressures, and six quarterback hits.
McKivitz, who only had two penalties, gave up four QB hits, nine sacks, and an astounding 47 pressures, according to PFF, while having a 65.1 grade. Aidan Hutchinson, who the Lions often line up against the right tackle, may have the upper hand against McKivitz. The other two starting offensive linemen, center Jake Brendel and right guard Jon Feliciano, received fair grades from PFF—Brendel had a 63.9 and Feliciano an 81.2.
Just three more sacks have been allowed by the unit than by the Lions (34). Still, the 49ers’ offensive line will be put to the test for the full 60 minutes against Detroit, a club that leads the NFL in pressure (188) and pressure percentage (28.2).
This week’s game will once again come down to the struggle in the trenches. It was the primary difference last week against the Bucs, who have a solid run defense, while the Lions were able to run on them. This week’s task is more difficult since the Lions will be facing the 49ers, who have the third-best run defense in the NFL. Detroit’s situation is further complicated by the fact that left guard Jonah Jackson is anticipated to miss the match due to a slight meniscus injury.
To cover the absence at left guard, the Lions will need to rely on offensive lineman Kayode Awosika. If Jackson is able to return for the Super Bowl, Detroit will not sign any free agents for that week, so don’t anticipate any outside assistance to arrive. The Lions may also activate one offensive lineman from the practice squad, but I wouldn’t expect them to start; instead, I would expect them to play in an emergency.
This club will be greatly aided if the Lions can keep Jared Goff safe and give him time to throw. In addition to being effective in the passing game, the 49ers have allowed the fewest rushing yards this season, so the offensive line will need to perform very well in order to create space for running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. This game might become nasty quickly if the 49ers defensive line puts up a fight against the Lions offensive line.
