49ers defeat Lions 34-31 in NFC Championship game with second-half rally

FOX 2 (WJBK) - A disastrous second half by the Lions ended in a 34-31 win for the 49ers in the NFC Championship game Sunday. 

The Lions lost a 17-point lead as host San Francisco unleashed 27 points straight amid a second-half onslaught.

The win punched the 49ers ticket to the Super Bowl to play the Kansas City Chiefs in two weeks. The Chiefs defeated the top-seed Baltimore Ravens 17-10 in the AFC Championship game earlier on Sunday.

Fourth quarter

The Lions scored on a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams making it 34-31 with 56 seconds left, but by that point the damage by the host 49ers was done.

An ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Niners to seal the win thanks to a second-half landslide. 

San Francisco scored to make it 34-24 with three minutes left in the fourth quarter on a 3-yard Elijah Mitchell touchdown. 

The score was part of a 27-point second-half onslaught which helped bury the Lions. 

The Lions' second fourth down attempt failed in the second half - passing up a potential tying field goal amid a crushing second-half swing of 49ers momentum. 

The Lions lost a 17-point lead with San Francisco taking its first lead 27-24 on a 33-yard Jake Moody field goal. 

Back-to-back sacks of Brock Purdy stopped the bleeding on the 49ers drive, which went 65 yards in 11 plays.

Third quarter

The third-quarter momentum spiraled out of control in favor of the Niners after the second drop by Josh Reynolds of the quarter, forcing a three-and-out.

A fumble by Lions rookie Jahmyr Gibbs recovered by the 49ers led to the tying 49ers touchdown, making it 24-24 with three minutes left.

Christian McCaffrey barreled in from a yard out, as the Niners capped a short 24-yard drive. A Brock Purdy 21-yard scramble didn't help, setting up the home team at the Detroit 4-yard line.

Moments earlier, San Francisco's 6-yard touchdown pass by Purdy to Brandon Aiyuk cut the Lions lead to 24-17 with five minutes left in the third quarter.

The 49ers got a 51-yard catch off a carom by Aiyuk setting them up at the Lions' 4-yard line.

The bomb by Purdy bounced off the Lions' Kindle Vildor's facemask, into the hands of the diving Aiyuk.

The 49ers cut into the Lions lead with a 43-yard field goal by Jake Moody after getting the ball first to open the second half - making it 24-10.

The Lions attempted to answer with points of their own, but a fourth-down gamble by Dan Campbell came up empty on a dropped pass by Josh Reynolds at the Niners' 28-yard line.

Second quarter

At halftime, The Lions led the 49ers in total yards - 280 to 131, with 18 first downs to just eight. The punishing running game has taken center stage with 148 yards on 21 carries and three rushing touchdowns.

Quarterback Jared Goff has 148 yards on 13-of-20 passing with Amon-Ra St. Brown (five catches, 73 yards) leading the way.

The Lions went up 24-7 after adding a 21-yard field goal by Michael Badgley with seven seconds left before halftime. The kick capped a 68-yard, 17-play drive.  

Clutch third-down conversions helped on the long march, including on third-and-12 and third-and-18.

A Gibbs 15-yard touchdown run gave the Lions a 21-7 lead with 5:54 left in the second quarter.

The scoring drive came courtesy of a Malcolm Rodriguez interception caused by a Josh Paschal tipped pass off Brock Purdy. A personal foul by CJ Gardner-Johnson set the Lions back to midfield during the interception run back.

The 49ers opened the quarter with a 2-yard touchdown run from McCaffrey to slice into the Lions lead 14-7.

San Francisco, slapped by an early 14-0 deficit, responded with an 8-play, 75-yard drive keyed by a 28-yard pass from Brock Purdy to McCaffrey and a 23-yard completion to fullback Kyle Juszczyk.

First quarter

The Lions got the ball first after the 49ers won the coin toss and deferred - going 71 yards in four plays. 

Lions receiver Jameson Williams galloped for a 42-yard touchdown on a reverse and a 7-0 lead to open the scoring - and the game.

Key chunk yardage came with a 15-yard run by David Montgomery and a 14-yard pass from Jared Goff to Sam LaPorta.

A 1-yard touchdown plunge by David Montgomery made it 14-0 Lions, capping a 62-yard, 11-play drive.

A 14-yard pass to Montgomery early in the drive as well as a 13-yard screen pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown on third-and-nine helped power the march down the field.

The 49ers' first drive led to a missed 48-yard Jake Moody field goal, pushing it wide right.

It was the season opener when the Lions defeated the Chiefs on the road 21-10 way back on Sept. 7. Of course that was the game which NBC's Mike Tirico pointed out had an "asterisk" due to the fact KC star tight end Travis Kelce was injured and didn't play.

But first comes the Niners, which entered the NFC Championship game as a 7.5-point favorite over the Lions.

As usual, history is not on the Lions' side - having not won a playoff road game in 66 years, going 0-11 in that span.

However, it does call to mind the famous Mark Twain saying, "History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes" due to today's matchup and the background between the teams.

But the last time the Lions did win a post-season road game - it was against the 49ers in 1957 to advance to the NFL championship (before the Super Bowl existed), where they won.

More recently - in 1983 the Lions lost a heart-breaking playoff game at San Francisco. Detroit kicker Eddie Murray's 43-yard field goal attempt missed with 11 seconds left, giving the Niners a 24-23 win.

The Lions will have plenty of support at the game, according to the Detroit News almost 25 percent of tickets sold have been to Lions fans. The typical conference championship visitor amount is usually well under 10 percent, including only 3 percent in last year's games.